David Ornstein reveals why Eddie Nketiah won’t leave Arsenal on loan – report

The Athletic correspondent David Ornstein has revealed that Arsenal decided against another temporary exit for Eddie Nketiah after the intervention of manager Mikel Arteta.

The 20-year-old had a good pre-season with the Gunners in the United States where he scored three goals from four appearances and it was anticipated that he may get more chances with the first-team this season.

However, the youngster chose to make the loan move to Leeds United shortly after but he had to convince former boss Unai Emery, who was initially reluctant to sanction the short-term deal.

While Nketiah did manage to score five goals from 19 games with Leeds, he was afforded with just 500 minutes of action in the Championship and that contributed towards the Gunners recalling him at the turn of the year.

Nketiah has been widely fancied to pursue another loan move in recent weeks with the strong interest from Bristol City but it now appears that a deal won’t happen with Arteta wanting the forward at the club.

As per The Athletic, Arteta is understood to have been impressed with Nketiah’s application in training and he has hence intervened and blocked a loan exit for the youngster which seemed a certainty at one stage.

Nketiah is unlikely to earn more minutes with the Gunners compared to a Championship side and it remains to be seen how Arteta utilises the club graduate during the backend of the season.

Alexandre Lacazette has been misfiring upfront with his inability to find the net for more than a month but Nketiah won’t necessarily hamper the Frenchman’s starting role, particularly with Arteta impressed with his overall workrate and high pressing.

Lacazette will need to find his scoring boots this weekend as the Gunners won’t be able to rely on top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is unavailable for the next three domestic games after his sending off for a poor tackle on Crystal Palace’s Max Meyer.