Gabriel Jesus picked up an injury in pre-season, leaving Arsenal without their main striker for the Community Shield clash and their opening Premier League game vs Nottingham Forest.
Despite poor displays in that role for Chelsea, Kai Havertz started up top vs Manchester City.
However, Eddie Nketiah was back in the XI on Saturday and scored the opening goal as Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners.
Now, Mikel Arteta has revealed what Nketiah did to earn his spot back in the XI:
“He was a player who was so disappointed not to play the final in the absence of Gabi,” Arteta said of Nketiah.
“What he did was he came on the field in the final and changed the game. That’s number one. The second one was the way he was training this week was saying ‘gaffer, if you’re not playing me you are blind’.
With Jesus not expected to be back this month, Nketiah should get a few more chances to impress from the off in the coming weeks.
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