Paul Merson says Eddie Nketiah can’t replace Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus

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Arsenal star Eddie Nketiah‘s time to shine has arrived after it was confirmed that Gabriel Jesus has undergone surgery and will be sidelined for a while.

However, Paul Merson just does not believe the Englishman is good enough to be a starter for the Gunners if they want to win the Premier League this season.

Paul Merson says Eddie Nketiah cannot be Arsenal’s main striker

Jesus has arguably been Arsenal’s best player this season. He’s one of, if not, the biggest reason why the Gunners are on top of the Premier League table at the moment.

The Brazilian’s injury, unfortunately for him, was a really unfortunate one. A report from Goal revealed that he suffered a meniscus and a partial collateral ligament injury in his right knee, which is expected to keep him out of action for as long as three months.

Jesus will be a huge miss for the Gunners, but his absence opens the door for Nketiah to come in and show the world that he’s good enough

Merson, however, thinks he’s not.

The pundit told The Daily Express: “Eddie Nketiah can’t keep it up, no disrespect to the kid.

“Of course he can’t. It’s too much to ask. He is brilliant to come on as a sub but they’ve got to go and get a focal point.”  

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That’s a bit harsh on Nketiah, who did so well for Arsenal in the final few games of last season.

The Englishman scored five goals in the final seven games, including an excellent brace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to help the Gunners win 4-2.

Nketiah has certainly shown that he has the quality to score in the Premier League, but it has to be said that he’s not on Jesus’ level – not yet, at least.

It will be interesting to see if Arteta will dive into the transfer market to replace Jesus. If he doesn’t Nketiah will really have to step up to keep Arsenal where they are in the table.