Former PL striker identifies the major flaws of Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus

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Former Brighton and Hove Albion striker Glenn Murray has now given his verdict on Arsenal duo Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.

Both Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah have come in for criticism at times this season. The Arsenal strikers have both also turned in particularly poor performances in the last few days, as the north London club have sustained consecutive Premier League defeats, severely denting their title contender credentials.

First, up against West Ham United, Jesus turned in a particularly wasteful display. The Brazilian spurned two glorious chances to find the back of the net, as the Gunners slumped to a 2-0 defeat.

The 26-year-old has only found the back of the net in the Premier League three times so far this season, and recently admitted that goalscoring is not the strongest aspect of his game. Mikel Arteta has seemingly lost patience with Jesus’ profligacy too, as the former Manchester City man was demoted to the bench for Arsenal’s clash with Fulham last time out.

Nketiah was given the nod at Craven Cottage, but was essentially anonymous throughout. The Hale End academy graduate never got into the game as Arsenal succumbed to a 2-1 loss in west London.

What must Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah do to improve?

Glenn Murray has now identified the flaws in the two players’ games. Speaking to Premier League Productions, the 40-year-old said, “we refer to Jesus as a number nine, but for me he hasn’t got that mentality, he drops in, he’s more of a 10, he gets involved in play and he drops into that space. Nketiah is more of a nine, but he hasn’t got that stature or the physicality just yet, he’s learning.”

A pure, clinical number nine is exactly what Arsenal need. Jesus must either adapt his game or step aside, and if Arteta wants to win titles now, he cannot afford to wait for everything to click into place with Nketiah. As such, Arsenal must turn to the transfer market to find the prolific marksmen they are currently sorely missing.

The Gunners have already been linked with a number of high-profile names in this position. An efficient finisher, who could thrive off of the service provided by the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, amongst others, would take this team to the next level.

Such players do not come cheap, though, and will be hard to source in the current January transfer window. As such, Arteta must find a way to squeeze more out of Jesus and Nketiah now.