Nketiah shines to ease Jesus worries as Arsenal put Lyon to the sword in Dubai
https://theathletic.com/3982995/2022/12/09/nketiah-shines-to-ease-jesus-worries-as-arsenal-put-lyon-to-the-sword-in-dubai/
No matter what people’s views are on the relevance of these mid-season friendlies, it is crucial that Arsenal and, more importantly, Eddie Nketiah, take some momentum into the Premier League’s resumption on Boxing Day.
To that end, Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Lyon in Dubai on Thursday and Nketiah’s goal and all-round performance are hugely encouraging.
Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury means there will be a huge amount of pressure on the 23-year-old when the league returns.
That is why these matches in the UAE against Lyon, AC Milan and Juventus carry importance. Nketiah will have a crucial role to play for table-topping Arsenal in the second half of the season and he needs game time under his belt before the serious stuff gets going again.
He looked sharp against Lyon, even before his goal. Early on he was peeling out to the left and managed to beat the offside trap to create a decent chance for Reiss Nelson, who hit the post.
These movements are what Jesus did during his best form at the start of the season and his rotations with Gabriel Martinelli made Arsenal an even bigger threat as they became harder to track. If Nketiah can continue to replicate the Brazilian in this way, then Arsenal have a great shot at winning their first league title since 2003-04.
Nketiah’s involvement in deeper areas was also encouraging. During the striker’s resurgence last season, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “We know this capacity he has to make runs in behind — the timing of it (and) how he attacks the box. But his link-up play, his understanding of spaces, timing of receptions, where he wants to come and work, which passes and spaces he will find afterwards, have improved a lot.”
His role in the build-up to Fabio Vieira’s goal (receiving a long ball under pressure on halfway before moving it on) sticks out but was not the sole example. Ten minutes before Vieira scored, the Portuguese dragged a shot wide from a similar area, with the chance coming from Nketiah receiving the ball on the turn between the lines before spreading the play.
In the second half, he also displayed the turn he started to develop last pre-season (when he steps towards the ball before bouncing away with it to escape pressure) to win fouls in good areas.
For his goal, he burst into the box before coolly finishing in the bottom-right corner.
As a whole, the defensive organisation of Arsenal’s first-team players was compact in the right areas (high upfield) and caused multiple turnovers of possession during their 65-minute run-out before the academy players were introduced.
Looking at other individuals, Vieira took a little while to get a feel of the game but picked up and it was not a surprise that he provided an assist to go with his goal. On the left, Nelson continued the good form he took into the break.
Further down the pitch, Kieran Tierney, who started to invert again during the second half, was also promising. Not only did he do this in midfield, but he was able to break forward with third-man runs up the inside channel to get into the final third.
While the majority of this group consists of players who would not start with a fully available squad, there are some who will definitely be playing when the Premier League returns. That is why these games are so important.
Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Matt Turner and Thomas Partey have all exited the World Cup (some of whom are travelling directly to Dubai to link up with the squad). Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil) and Bukayo Saka (England) are still involved in Qatar.
Speaking about Jesus’ injury and whether it would have a bearing on Arsenal’s January transfer plans, Arteta said: “It affects who we are as a team because he gives us so much. What we can do after that, when we know the timescale and when we can have him back, we will look at the options and try to make the right decisions.
“We look at the squad and consider every option with the players we have available. There are things that we can try (if) we have the need to do so.”
Whatever the decision, there is no doubt that there will be a lot of pressure on Nketiah’s young shoulders when the Premier League gets going again.
