Mikel Arteta names the Arsenal gem who’s wowed him with his ‘incredible’ attitude since arriving

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has waxed lyrical about Eddie Nketiah following his display in the Gunners’ Premier League victory at Southampton.

The 21-year-old striker, widely rated as one of the brightest players to have emerged from the Arsenal ranks in recent years, has broken into the Gunners first team this term.

Arteta, who succeeded Unai Emery as manager in December, opted against allowing Nketiah to head back out on loan after a stint at Championship high-flyers Leeds United.

Nketiah saw an early goal chalked off in Thursday’s trip to St Mary’s but went on to open the scoring on 20 minutes after intercepting Alex McCarthy’s pass.

He could have had another shortly before half time, and throughout the game he gave the Saints back line a tough time as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners.

When asked by Football London about Nketiah’s performance, Arteta replied: “Eddie since I joined, the maturity and personality that he plays [with in] every game is incredible.

“I demand a lot from the forward players to put the opponent under pressure and they’ve done it. A lot of the goals we score are because of the errors we force on the opponent.

“I am happy with Eddie, the way he’s played today again, but I am happy with the team and I’m really happy with the subs.”

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With doubts over the futures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, combined with a potentially tight budget in wake of current events, it’ll be more important than ever for Arsenal to develop stars.

And Nketiah is certainly a star in the making, with plaudits from the likes of Charlie Nicholas, Michael Owen and even Thierry Henry, who worked with him while coaching Arsenal’s Under-18s.

So far so good for Nketiah following the resumption of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign and it certainly bodes well for next season and beyond.