The 21-year-old Anglo-Ghanaian was on target on Thursday to give the Gunners valuable points after a poor restart in the league
Eddie Nketiah states he always tries to be a “nuisance” to opposition teams after he scored in Arsenal’s 2-0 Premier League win at Southampton on Thursday.
The Gunners resumed the league on a bad note with back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion, which made their aim to close in on the top four much more difficult.
There was none of that struggle at St. Mary’s, however, with Nketiah scoring a very easy goal after a howler by Southampton goalie Alex McCarthy before Joe Willock made it 2-0.
It was Nketiah’s second goal in the Premier League since his return on loan from Leeds United and fourth in all competitions this term.
“I think that’s just the way I play. I always try to be a nuisance and throw my weight around and chase for the team and try and hold up the ball,” Nketiah told Sky Sports after the match.
“The team all worked hard together and we were unlucky not to score a few more with a couple of other chances. It’s nice to get three points.
“We were very focused. Nobody likes losing, especially us. We’ve been working so hard in the quarantine break and when we came back to training, so we needed to reward ourselves with three points. We were focused and determined to get the three points by any means necessary.”
Nketiah went on to hail fellow academy graduate Willock, who netted his first-ever Premier League goal.
“I’m delighted, he’s like my brother,” he said.
“If I score, he celebrates like me and if he scores, it’s like I scored again.
“I’m delighted for him, he did well when he came on and it was nice to wrap up the three points with us both on the scoresheet.”
On the other end, it was a miserable night for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has now gone three league games without a goal which only fuels more speculation about his future at the club.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp explained that Nketiah has a better work rate hence coach Mikel Arteta will find the Anglo-Ghanaian more useful than the Gabonese, who has 17 Premier League goals this season.
“I prefer to see Aubameyang down the middle because he will get more goals but I think it is Nketiah’s work rate that Arteta likes,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports.
“Guardiola when he first came preferred Jesus to Aguero there because of his runs and it took Aguero a little while to buy into it.
“I don’t know if Aubameyang will be that striker. He thinks Nketiah works hard for the team.
“For a midfielder or defender, it’s a dream when your forward is winning balls back. A lot of strikers don’t chase lost causes.
“He did it and he deserves his goal for that reason.”
Arsenal remain in ninth place, 11 points away from the top four. Their next encounter is an FA Cup quarter-final at Sheffield United on Sunday.
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