Nketiah eclipses Lacazette with latest Arsenal strike

Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring in Arsenal’s Premier League match against Southampton on Thursday, extending his impressive scoring record this season.

The Anglo-Ghanaian forward pounced on an error from Saints stopper Alex McCarthy to poke home from close range, having chased down an attempted clearance by the keeper.

It was a miserable moment for McCarthy, but was a moment to further highlight Nketiah’s burgeoning talent, as he demonstrated genuine hunger and tenacity to chase down a lost cause and put pressure on the keeper.

It also extended his fine goalscoring run this season, with the forward demonstrating an admirable consistency in front of goal.

This was only his eleventh start of the season in all competitions, but he’s netted six goals across those appearances, with four of those goals coming for Arsenal, and two coming for Leeds United.

The young attacker was on loan at Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds during the first half of the campaign but was recalled by Mikel Arteta having caught the eye on several occasions in the Championship.

Nonetheless, he was rarely used as a starter by Bielsa, with 15 of Nketiah’s 17 appearances in the second tier coming from the bench.

The 21-year-old started for the Gunners against Manchester City in their first match back following the restart, looking sharp despite the one-sided contest and 3-0 victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.

At the weekend, he was introduced from the bench as Arsenal were defeated by Brighton & Hove Albion, and was preferred to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the midweek trip to St Mary’s Stadium.

Nketiah’s goal against Southampton was his third of the calendar year, with some Gunners supporters cheekily noting he’s scored more than Harry Kane and Tammy Abraham combined since the start of 2020.

The youngster has also scored away from home against Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton for Arsenal this term, a return which eclipses Alexandre Lacazette’s goal tally away from the Emirates Stadium.

Despite being at the club all season, the France international has only scored twice away from home since the start of the campaign.

Lewisham-born Nketiah has represented England from U18 to U21 level, but is eligible to represent Ghana’s Black Stars through his ancestry.