Mikel Arteta says Eddie Nketiah gave him no choice but to start him in Arsenal’s win over Nottingham Forest because of the way the striker performed in training.
Nketiah opened the scoring in the Gunners’ 2-1 win over Forest before Bukayo Saka added another as Arsenal opened their Premier League season within a win despite Taiwo Awoniyi’s second-half strike.
And the Arsenal boss says it was an obvious choice to start Nketiah – who missed out on a starting spot in last week’s Community Shield
“He was a player who was so disappointed not to play the final in the absence of Gabi (Jesus),” Arteta said.
“What he did was he came on the field in the final and changed the game. That’s number one.
“The second one was the way he was training this week was saying ‘gaffer, if you’re not playing me you are blind’.
“A lot of players come and say ‘oh why am I not playing’ and you have to try to explain, other players come and say ‘these are the reasons why I deserve to play’. This is exactly what Eddie does.”
Arsenal were dealt a blow in the second half, however, when new signing Jurrien Timber was forced off with an injury following a coming together with Brennan Johnson in the first half.
“The doctors looked at him and they were happy for him to continue, he was as well,” Arteta said.
“Straight away in the first action of the second half he made a movement and it was a bit funny. We took him out straight after and now we have to assess him and see what he has.”
