Eddie Nketiah says he is 'ready' to claim Arsenal first-team place after impressive pre-season displays

Eddie Nketiah, the highly-rated Arsenal prospect, has declared himself ready to play regular first-team football after becoming the breakout star of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

Nketiah, one of the most exciting products of the Arsenal academy, has scored three goals in two games against Bayern Munich and Fiorentina in the past week.

The 20-year-old has options to leave on loan this summer but he has now been challenged by head coach Unai Emery to stay in north London and provide a natural goalscoring option for the first team.

Nketiah’s short-term future is a delicate issue for Arsenal. The club do not wish to hamper his development by providing him with limited first-team action, but are reluctant to allow him to leave on loan due to a lack of striking cover for first-choice attackers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Nketiah was due to join Augsburg on loan in January but was barred from leaving north London following an injury to Danny Welbeck. Emery said Arsenal have not made efforts to replace Welbeck, who left the club this summer, because they would rather give Nketiah more opportunities in the senior squad.

“I feel like I have been improving until being at a stage now when I am ready to play regularly,” Nketiah said. “I am trying to show in pre-season that I have developed and I am ready to show what I can do. I am ready to start playing regularly.”

Nketiah’s future is likely to be decided after the pre-season tour of the US, which continues with a match against Real Madrid in midweek.

“There was talk of [a loan move in January] and it was close to happening but the club decided that I should stay and I tried to finish the season as strongly as possible,” he said. “We’ll see what happens in the future but I am just enjoying the tour and in the future decisions will be made.

“After the tour, it’s something that I will look at with my family and speak to the manager and see what is best for me.”

Nketiah has grown up idolising former Arsenal strikers Ian Wright and Thierry Henry and said both have contributed to his development as a forward.

“They are probably two of my favourites,” said Nketiah, who has bulked up since scoring two goals on his Arsenal debut in the League Cup against Norwich City in 2017. “I was with Ian Wright not too long ago and got some advice and it’s always nice to speak to those guys who have been your idols.

“I worked with Thierry as well [in the academy] and it’s great to get that advice off top strikers. Thierry was great for me, not just on the pitch but off the field as well.”

Emery acknowledged that Nketiah began pre-season with misgivings over how many minutes he will be given in the first team this campaign but the Arsenal head coach has insisted that the forward will have his opportunities if he stays.

“Last year in December we were thinking to loan him to Germany,” Emery said. “We decided he stays with us to train and progress with us. We started this pre-season with the same idea as we finished last year - stay with us. My idea is if you progress like we are seeing from you, you can have a chance here for us.

“I spoke with him and with the club. He has started with a doubt if it is better for him to stay here with us or leave to play more minutes with another team. But we have examples last year of some players who wanted away and didn’t play all we wanted.

“I said to him first be focused here. If you earn the right to be with us it’s because I can promise you that you are going to have minutes. But in those minutes you need to learn. And in the pre-season at the moment he’s playing like we want.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal are increasingly confident of completing a move for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos as a replacement for the departed Aaron Ramsey.

Arsenal face Madrid in Washinton DC on Tuesday and the two sides are understood to be edging closer to an agreement over a season-long loan. Ceballos is seen as one of the most exciting talents in Spanish football but the 22-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular place in the Madrid starting lineup since joining the club from Real Betis in 2017.