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Nketiah showed why he is ready to step up in the absence of Gabriel Jesus with a brilliant performance against West Ham
The injury to Gabriel Jesus had dominated the days before Arsenal took on West Ham at home and many fans are yet to be fully convinced of the suitability of backup striker, Eddie Nketiah.
Nketiah's performance against West Ham
Nketiah showed excellent movement in the box to receive a fine pass from Martin Odegaard before shrugging off two defenders and firing into the bottom left corner to make it 3-1 to Arsenal.
Nketiah had troubled the West Ham defenders all night with his exceptional movement and the goal was well-deserved for the 23-year-old.
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The Gunners had gone behind early in the game to a Said Benrahma penalty but they responded adequately in the second half. Bukayo Saka leveled the contest and Gabriel Martinelli finished from a tight angle before Nketiah applied further gloss on the scoreline.
Nketiah gets his chance and takes it
Nketiah had not started a league game for Arsenal this season, having played second fiddle to Jesus and was only restricted to bit-part roles off the bench.
However, with the Brazilian suffering a knee injury that will keep him out for some time after undergoing surgery, Nketiah has been touted as the obvious replacement although there have been doubts among some observers over his capabilities.
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What next for Arsenal and Nketiah?
Nketiah has shown on more than one occasion that he deserves a run of games in the side and he will get that opportunity now. He scored 8 goals for Arsenal last season and he will believe he can equal that tally.
Arsenal travel to Brighton on Saturday where they will be seeking to maintain their impressive run. Mikel Arteta will be hoping Nketiah can score the goals to fire the Gunners to the Premier League title.
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