Eddie Nketiah joined Leeds United on loan in August 2019 but was recalled by his parent club Arsenal in January because of his lack of game time. Marcelo Bielsa preferred to start with Patrick Bamford as his centre forward and as a result, the England Under-21 international played just 495 minutes in the Championship.
A lot has changed at Arsenal since Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery in December and Nketiah has found himself starting in back-to-back Premier League fixtures versus Newcastle United and Everton.
Did Leeds make a mistake not playing Nketiah more often?
Yes
No
Preferred to Alexandre Lacazette at the weekend, the 20-year-old repaid the faith shown in him by his coach with an excellent first-time finish to put his side back on level terms.
These Leeds fans can’t believe that the £7.2m-rated striker is starting for Arsenal but wasn’t good enough to displace Bamford during his time in Yorkshire.
Nketiah starting for Arsenal and scoring but not good enough for Leeds ?
— Tash_ALTV (@100YearsOfLUFC) February 23, 2020
If he was still at Leeds he’d be in the team
— LeedsLeedsLeeds (@ChrisLUFC1981) February 23, 2020
I doubt anyone thought he wasn’t good enough for Leeds. It’s more a case of Bielsa respecting Bramfords contribution. Wish he was still ours though ?
— Gav Sisso (@Gavsisso) February 24, 2020
Soooo I guess we should of played Nketiah more? #lufc
— Cornelius Hackle (@Armed_n_Redding) February 23, 2020
How did Eddie Nketiah fail at Leeds but is prospering at Arsenal? #lufc
— Barnzy (@Barnzy_R99) February 23, 2020
Nketiah starting ahead of Lacazette. But not ahead of Bamford. ?.@hebeedb0909 #lufc #afc
— David Gilbert ?? (@DavidGilbert43) February 23, 2020
What do we think?
Since his return to the Emirates Stadium, Eddie Nketiah has seemingly justified Mikel Arteta and the club’s decision to keep him rather than sending him out on loan again, with the striker having scored against Bournemouth in the FA Cup recently, too. In our view, whilst some of these Leeds supporters appear to be mystified as to why he wasn’t selected to start ahead of Bamford, it wasn’t due to a lack of quality.
Judging by the striker’s lack of Leeds game time and decent form for the Gunners, Nketiah may well have continued to warm the bench at Elland Road had he stuck around – despite clearly having something useful in his locker.