August 12th 2023.
Rio Ferdinand is a big fan of Arsenal's striker Eddie Nketiah, and believes he is capable of being an important part of their Premier League title challenge this season.
Nketiah was handed a surprise start by Mikel Arteta on Saturday and seized the opportunity to impress, scoring his side's first goal of the season with a deflected shot after some impressive skill from Gabriel Martinelli created an opportunity.
Ferdinand believes that the Hale End Academy graduate is often underappreciated, but is capable of being an integral part of the team going forward.
He told TNT Sports: "He would have seen people saying is he the right guy, can he show the responsibility if Jesus isn't fit, is he someone who can score the goals to get them to win the league and help them become a successful team? He answers people. This kid knows how to score goals he's done it all his career. I don't know him personally but I know people around him and he's worked on himself physically. He is diligent behind the scenes, got a great work ethic. Whatever you think of him he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net. He can finish.
"Man City won the league with someone who scored 51 goals from the centre forward position. Arsenal don't have that guy to do that but they have the potential to do it through a cluster of players. He's very valuable. He showed last year when Jesus got injured, for a period of time he didn't go unnoticed."
It is clear that Nketiah has a lot to offer the Gunners this season, and with the support of Ferdinand and other fans of the club it is likely that he will continue to be an important part of the team.
Arsenal were forced to dig deep to record an opening day win over Nottingham Forest, and unfortunately Jurrien Timber limped out of the game with a worrying injury.
Nevertheless, this win puts Arsenal in a strong position to challenge for the title this season, and with Eddie Nketiah leading the line there is no doubt that their chances of success will be increased.
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