TBR View: Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah needs to send out statement

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Arsenal wrap up the Europa League group stages with a trip to Dundalk on Thursday evening, where they’ll be looking to make it six wins out of six.

The Gunners have already secured top spot to make them a top seed for the Round of 32, which means they’ll initially avoiding the teams dropping down from the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta has managed to give plenty of fringe players the chance to impress in Thursday night games so far this season and based off previous selections in the competition it won’t be a surprise if Eddie Nketiah leads the line once again.

Nketiah has started all five of the previous Europa League matches and it’s been a competition that he’s scored two goals in so far.

But the English forward has started in just one Premier League match this campaign, meaning he’s under real pressure tonight to send out a statement to his manager Arteta.

With the Europa League put on hold until February after the final round of group stage matches, Arsenal don’t play again in cup competitions until 9 January at home to Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round.

Nketiah is currently stuck in the pattern of being a cup starter, but his aspirations will surely be to play regularly in the league.

The 21-year-old could do with a big performance against Dundalk to twist Arteta’s arm into drafting him into the league XI, or he could find himself not starting a game until January.

A top performance tonight would massively help his case, as Arsenal are really struggling for goals right now with just 10 goals in 11 league games so far and need an injection of quality in the final third.

Nketiah is nowhere near the finished article and at times his overall game can be lacking, but the talented youngster is clinical around the penalty box and he’s under severe pressure to send out a message in the Europa League.