Date: 10th January 2023 at 8:00am
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Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah is targeting more improvement following his latest goals against Oxford United.

THE LOWDOWN: UP TO THE TASK

Nketiah continued to lead the line for the Gunners in the absence of the injured Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal faced Oxford United on Monday night and Nketiah came to the good with a brace, making it his fourth goal in his last four competitive appearances for the Gunners.

Following the unfortunate injury Jesus sustained, Arteta backed him to deliver in the Brazilian’s absence and he hasn’t put a foot wrong yet.

THE LATEST: MORE IMPROVEMENT

Eddie Nketiah, in his post match interview, expressed his thoughts on a number of questions and most especially his current form.

On whether Arsenal were starting to get anxious at the hour mark…

“We came here and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s tough ground, a good crowd and obviously, the pitch is tough to play on the way we want to play. It was a tough start, we had to stay patient, we had to up the level – it wasn’t good enough from us in the first half. We did that in the second half.”

On what Arsenal needed to improve in the second half…

“We just needed more quality with the ball, calmness, patience. They wanted us to be a rushed, a high-tempo game, we needed to slow it down and play at our pace. I think we did that in the second half and we got our reward.”

On which of his goals he preferred

“[For the first] Fabio, to be fair, we’ve been talking about that about that little darting run and reverse pass. He’s got that in his locker. It was nice. I took the first one nice but the second one was a nice little dink so I think I probably enjoyed that a little bit more.”

On a run in the side boosting his confidence…

“It’s good. Every player wants to play whatever competition it is, I always want to push and help the team. I’m grateful for the opportunities and I want to keep improving and keep working and helping the team.”

On facing Manchester City in the next round…

“Obviously, it’s not the best draw but we’ll be up for it. We’ve got a lot of games in between so we’ll focus, recover, focus on Tottenham first and then after that we’ll take them as they come.”

THE VERDICT: MORE TO COME

Nketiah has grabbed the opportunity presented to him with both hands and he is keen to make more impression before Jesus makes his return.

However, Arsenal still need to get a forward this month because any injury to Nketiah would leave Arsenal’s centre-forward position without an option.

 

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