Nketiah reveals beaming Arteta praise after stunning Arsenal return

Arsenal winger Eddie Nketiah has revealed how boss Mikel Arteta was “really happy” with his performance in Monday’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth.

Nketiah scored what turned out to be his side’s winning goal in the 2-1 fourth-round win over the Cherries, in his first start for the Gunners in over a year.

The 20-year-old, who had spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Leeds United, last started for Arsenal in the third-round win over Blackpool last January.

Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Nketiah said he was “grateful” for the continued opportunities and hinted that he could be involved throughout the rest of the season.

“Yeah it’s nice to be back,” the winger said. “I had a great experience out at Leeds, I learnt a lot.

“The boss was really happy with me in what he saw. Obviously you want to play for Arsenal it’s my dream to play for Arsenal, so I’m grateful for this opportunity.

“I’m just happy to be back and get back out there.”

Speaking about his side’s upcoming games, Nketiah added: “It’s nice to be through to the next round.

“We’re going to prepare and recover well, we’ve got games in between so we’re going to focus on that and hopefully keep building on the momentum.”

 

 

Nketiah broke through to the Arsenal first team in January last year and made nine appearances overall for the Gunners before his loan to Leeds this term.

The winger struggled to gain momentum under Marcelo Bielsa, despite making 17 Championship appearances.

Arsenal’s next game sees them face Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Arteta said after Monday’s game that he was disappointed with the way his side became “sloppy” after going two goals up against Eddie Howe’s side.

Nketiah’s goal was preceded by Bukayo Saka’s opener but the Gunners failed to find the net again, before Sam Surridge set up a nervy finish by getting a goal back.

Arteta said: “I think the way we started the game, the way we followed what we wanted to do, to create the spaces and the overloads in the areas that we wanted, and [that helped us] to score two fantastic goals.

“After that we became a little bit sloppy in our passing, the rhythm was too down and I didn’t like that very much.”