Mikel Arteta has to be ruthless and upgrade on £100k-a-week player after Tottenham performance
Mikel Arteta should be alarmed by Eddie Nketiah’s performance as Arsenal failed to beat Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Whilst Arsenal were underwhelming as a whole, Nketiah really failed to convince that he deserves to be starting in such a big game.
Nketiah has done an important job for Arsenal whilst Gabriel Jesus has been injured, but it’s now time for Arteta to upgrade.
The obvious candidate: Ivan Toney.
Arsenal are said to be interested in the Brentford striker and he would be a considerable upgrade on Nketiah.
Mikel Arteta has proven that he’s not afraid to displace a fan favourite, just look at Aaron Ramsdale sitting on the bench today.
MORE ARSENAL STORIES
And if Arteta is to take this Arsenal project to the next level then Nketiah might be a player who’s left behind.
There will be little room for sentiment if Arsenal are going to become a top, top team who can challenge with the likes of Manchester City.
And although £100k-a-week Nketiah is a very capable player, he was in the latest England squad, he does lack something at the top level.
Arteta now needs to upgrade on Nketiah at Arsenal
Although Arsenal fans love a Hale End academy player, surely very few would argue with a new strikeforce of Toney and Jesus.
That’s not necessarily to say that Nketiah needs to leave, but his playing time would be greatly reduced.
It may seem harsh to single out Nketiah today when several Arsenal players underperformed, but this has been a lingering issue.
Nkeitah can score goals for Arsenal at this level, but he’s often inconsistent when it comes to these crunch games for Arteta.
If Arsenal want a squad capable of winning trophies, Toney would be a huge boost.
And with all the speculation over his future, January could be an opportune time for Arsenal to make a move.
