Report: Arteta really wants to keep ‘extraordinary’ Gunner but he tells Arsenal he’s leaving

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According to The Daily Mail and Dharmesh Seth of Sky Sports, Mikel Arteta wants to keep hold of Eddie Nketiah at Arsenal beyond the end of this season.

The young Englishman was heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates in the summer. A number of Premier League clubs were interested in his services, but an injury in the final few weeks of the window killed his chances

Nketiah had to stay at Arsenal and he has barely played. He has Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and even Gabriel Martinelli ahead of him in the pecking order, which has hurt his chances of regular game time.

Arsenal fans are certain that there’s no future for him at the club, but Arteta reportedly thinks otherwise.

Arteta wants Nketiah to stay at Arsenal

Nketiah, labelled as ‘extraordinary‘ by Arteta, has entered the final year of his contract at the Emirates. He is allowed to negotiate with foreign clubs in January and it really does look like he’ll leave the club on a free transfer next summer.

Arteta, according to the Mail, made a last-ditch effort to keep hold of the young striker. The Arsenal boss’ convincing skills have helped the club retain the services of Aubameyang, Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe over the last 18 months.

The Spaniard probably felt he could convince Nketiah too, but the striker cannot be convinced.

The report claims that Nketiah has told Arsenal outright that he will not sign a new contract. He wants to leave the club and it is looking increasingly likely that he will walk away for nothing next summer.

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Nketiah is not going to become the first-choice forward at Arsenal, not anytime soon at least.

Aubameyang is not going anywhere and although Lacazette is expected to move on, Arsenal are almost guaranteed to bring in a top-quality striker to replace him. That player will eventually take over from the Gabon star as well.

That blocks Nketiah’s chances of succeeding at the Emirates, which is a shame. It’s right that he wants to move on as he’s at the age now where he needs to play regularly to fulfil his massive potential.

It will be interesting to see if Arsenal can sell Nketiah in January to make some money off him. If Edu can’t manage that, the Englishman will walk away and the Gunners won’t make a penny.