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Arsenal legend Ian Wright has fired a warning to current Gunners star Eddie Nketiah that now is his time to break into the starting XI, urging him to add more to his overall game.

Nketiah, who is a highly-rated forward to come through the club’s academy, has scored three goals in 14 games across all competitions so far this season.

But the 21-year-old Englishman has been unable to find a regular spot in Mikel Arteta’s XI with just one league start so far and he’s stuck behind teammate Alexandre Lacazette in the striker pecking order.

Lacazette, 29, has seen his form dip considerably since starting the league season with three goals in the opening three matches.

BBC pundit Wright believes that the senior Frenchman has the all-round game that is keeping him in the team right now, but feels he’s left the door open for Nketiah to pounce:

“Eddie now should be looking at what Lacazette does, why Lacazette is in the team, why he’ll be picked over him even when he’s not scoring and he’s got to start learning about the progression of himself,” Wright said on his podcast.

“By now with the goals that we know he’s capable of scoring because he can get in the box and he can finish, he should be adding those others things to his game to start saying ‘I should be putting a bit more pressure on Lacazette’.

“Your opportunity is right now. As a number nine if you want to play that role it’s now because you’ve got a number nine at the moment who’s confidence is low.

TBR’s View:

Nketiah is a clinical goalscorer that has no problem when it comes to finishing, something he proved yet again on Tuesday night by netting a double for England’s Under-21s side.

He’s going to score goals at a decent rate if he gets minutes on the pitch at any level, but it’s a fair assessment that the youngster’s game is far from complete yet and he can go missing during games at the Emirates Stadium.

The forward has started all three of Arsenal’s Europa League group stage matches so far and it’s a great competition for him to thrive, while he needs to try to make the most of his cameo appearances from the bench.