According to the latest reports from the Sun, Bristol City will have a second crack at landing Eddie Nketiah on loan in January. The young Arsenal forward was heavily linked with the Robins, and he was supposed to meet the club officials at the Ashton Gate over a possible move. However, Leeds United swooped in for him at the last moment to sign him on a season-long loan.
Why there is a case of Arsenal recalling their striker?
Arsenal have an option of recalling Nketiah in January. Bristol City will hope that they can lure the forward as Lee Johnson is on the lookout for a striker. Nketiah has been restricted to appearances from the bench, so there is a case of the Gunners wanting him back and sending him somewhere else where he can start regularly.
Nketiah also went on to reveal that Emery wanted to keep him at the Emirates as a backup option, but the youngster decided to move away to get regular game time. The English forward has managed four goals in eight appearances in all competitions so far for Leeds United. However, he is unable to get starts in the Championship as Bielsa has preferred Patrick Bamford over him.
Bamford hasn’t really set the scoring charts ablaze as he has failed to find the back of the net in his last six games. But given Bielsa’s stubborn nature, he will probably stick with the former Crystal Palace striker for the time being. This, in turn, could frustrate Nketiah who would be desperate to prove his worth.
From outside, one cannot say how Nketiah feels about not starting at the moment. However, in a long season, he will get his chances to shine as United doesn’t have much firepower up front. But it would be interesting to see whether Nketiah’s patience is running low or not at the moment.
As for Bristol City, they are currently level on points with the Whites, and maybe if Johnson can guarantee starts for Nketiah, then Arsenal might recall him and send him there. That will definitely be a massive blow for the Whites as they are thin on options upfront.
What should Bielsa do?
We think that the Arsenal striker should be given the go-ahead in the playing eleven as Bamford has lacked the killer instinct and Leeds United have been poor in the final third. Bamford has probably kept his place so far as he does a lot of things right in the build-up play as his movement is sharp. However, a striker will always be known for scoring goals, and that has evaded Bamford in the last few ties.
