£100k-a-week Arsenal star now ‘favours’ move to London rivals as summer exit looms

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One Arsenal player who looks likely to leave the Emirates Stadium in the upcoming summer transfer window has his heart set on joining a local rival.

Eddie Nketiah may well say goodbye to Arsenal this summer.

Arsenal are open to letting Eddie Nketiah leave after the end of this season, along with his fellow Hale End academy graduates Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson.

The striker has been on the books at the Emirates Stadium since 2015, when he joined as a teenager after having been released by the Chelsea academy. He made his senior first-team debut in 2017, and aside for a loan stint with Leeds United in 2019, he has been in and around the Arsenal first-team squad ever since.

In total, the 24-year-old has made 164 appearances for Arsenal, across all competitions, and has scored 38 goals in that time.

In the summer of 2022, Nketiah was awarded with a new contract and was handed the famous No. 14 shirt, which had once been worn by club legend and all-time Arsenal leading goalscorer Thierry Henry. Handing him that squad number was a show of faith in Nketiah from the club.

Where does Eddie Nketiah want to go after leaving Arsenal?

Since penning that new deal, the once-capped England international has struggled to kick on to the point of ever making himself a regular starter on a sustained basis. He had a run in the regular starting XI earlier this season, whilst Gabriel Jesus was struggling for fitness. In late October, he netted his maiden Premier League hat-trick against Sheffield United. 

Since then, though, he has failed to score in his last 14 Premier League appearances, and the starts have completely dried up, as Mikel Arteta seems to have lost faith in the forward. On top of Jesus, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are both now also ahead of him in the striking pecking order.

At this stage in his career, the £100,000-a-week forward needs to be playing regular football. He has what it takes to be a solid Premier League player, just perhaps not at the level Arsenal are currently competing at, as they are currently challenging for both the Premier League and Champions League crowns.

Football Transfers have now reported that Arsenal are keen to offload Nketiah this summer, and that both Crystal Palace and Brentford are interested in securing his services. Joining either club would allow him to remain in London, but Nketiah reportedly “favours” the Bees over making a switch to Selhurst Park.