Eddie Nketiah stole the show at the Emirates. With Gabriel Jesus injured, Nketiah got the chance to start in the Premier League against the Blades. And he certainly made the most of the opportunity, scoring an outstanding hat-trick.
It was a real statement for Nketiah, who has had to deal with doubters throughout his time in the Arsenal first-team. However, it was perhaps not enough to convince some.
Chris Sutton however, believes that Nketiah has the talent to prove his doubters wrong – particularly if he can add a nasty side to his game.
And he went on to admit that he would actually start Nketiah in the number nine position ahead of Jesus – even though the Brazilian does have that edge to him.
“It’s interesting, Alan Shearer’s comments on Nketiah, did he say he’d never be the first-choice number nine or words to that effect? I think he’s a really talented player. The way he took his first goal, brilliant, brilliant touch and awareness. And everybody talks about the third goal. But he is a finisher. He is. He’s 24 years old. He still has time on his side. So I wouldn’t go as far as what Alan said about him, because I do think he has time. Look at Ian Wright, got into the game late, really, really developed and kicked on,” Sutton told The Monday Night Club.
“I’m not going to write Nketiah off at all because I think he is so talented, that [nastiness] can still come.
“So Jesus has great attributes, but one of them, I think it’s fair to say, isn’t being a natural finisher. I think we’d all agree that Nketiah is a better natural finisher than Jesus. But what is Jesus? He is horrible. If you had a bit of both, they’d be perfect, wouldn’t they?
“I’d start him then,” he replied when pushed on whether he would pick Nketiah over Jesus following his comments.
