Nketiah scored 38 goals in a 168 appearances for the Gunners, and was always ready when called upon. The striker completed a £25million move to Crystal Palace this summer, and has already scored for the club in the EFL Cup.
Mikel Arteta had nothing but good words to say about Nketiah after he left the club:
‘We are so grateful to Eddie for his performances with us,’ Arteta said.
‘He is a player who has developed well through our academy and now he takes this opportunity with Crystal Palace.’
‘Eddie is a top professional, loved by everyone at the club, who wanted and needed to play more minutes. We wish Eddie well as he moves onto his next challenge.’
Eddie Nketiah opens up on Arsenal departure
The 25-year old striker made it clear, in an interview with The Independent, that he left Arsenal to play more games and be ‘happy’:
“It was about me being happy,” says the 25-year-old. “I wasn’t unhappy – there were things I loved about the club, I’d been at Arsenal all my life – but at the end of the day, a football player wants to play football. Obviously only 11 can play and you have to respect the manager’s decision. But there comes a point when you have to think about your personal development.”
Nketiah added that for players in his position, consistent playing time is key for improvement.
“Especially as a striker, you need rhythm,” Nketiah says. “You see players go a couple games without scoring and then have a purple patch, but in order to have that you need that consistency in minutes. It’s difficult, but it’s life. There were times where I did play and had a run [of games] and I enjoyed it. I think that’s the difficult part. You enjoy playing so much that when you don’t have the opportunities, it’s difficult to take.”
Former Arsenal player is still loved at the club
This season, Nketiah has had to play a new role in Oliver Glasner’s front three at Crystal Palace. He is adapting, having only played just four games.
Nketiah was appreciated during his time at the Emirates, and even Arsenal’s sporting director had good words to say about him:
‘Eddie has had a great journey from our Academy into our first team, and we send him our thanks and best wishes as he moves to Crystal Palace.
‘It is important for Eddie to be playing regular first-team football and we are happy we have concluded a very positive transfer deal for his move.
‘Eddie has a lot of friends here after many years at the club and we wish him good luck in his next step.’
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