Micah Richards raves about £100,000-a-week Arsenal player ahead of Nottingham Forest clash

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Micah Richards has heaped praise on Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah ahead of their Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest today.

The Gunners are back in action at lunchtime, and the excitement around the Emirates is huge. All eyes will be on the new signings – Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber – but Nketiah might steal the show if he starts up top.

Richards raved about him on The Rest is Football podcast.

Micah Richards praises Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah

Eddie Nketiah has improved massively at Arsenal over the last 12 months.

The Englishman looked set to leave the Gunners last year, but Mikel Arteta convinced him to stay and handed him a brand-new £100,000-a-week contract (Spotrac).

Nketiah played quite a lot last season, but he impressed the most when he had to step up and take Gabriel Jesus’ place after the Brazilian suffered a serious injury.

Richards heaped praise on the 24-year-old and claimed he has a big future ahead of him.

The pundit said: “With Arsenal, When Jesus got injured, they just became a different team. They weren’t as potent in front of goal.”

Gary Lineker replied: “Nketiah had a good run at it, didn’t he, for a little while?”

Richards then said: “Yes, he had an amazing run! Really good young player. I think he’s got a really good future ahead of him.”

TBR View:

Arsenal will once again be without Gabriel Jesus for the game today, which means there is a chance Arteta will turn to Eddie Nketiah to lead the line.

The Englishman started on the bench in the Community Shield last Sunday, but he had a real impact when he came on. He stretched Manchester City’s backline and caused them real problems. An argument can be made that he should start today.

However, Arteta has plenty of options right now. The Gunners boss can either go with Nketiah or just pick Kai Havertz as he did at Wembley last weekend. Leandro Trossard is a great option too, and he probably deserves a start after what he did against City.

It will be interesting to see what Arteta will do today, but if he turns to Nketiah, we’re sure he’ll step up.