Michael Owen has claimed that Eddie Nketiah will be goal machine throughout his career after watching the Arsenal man notch up a brace for the England under-21s.
In their final Euro 2021 qualifying match against Albania, the 21-year-old scored twice in the second half as the Three Lions comfortably saw off their opponents 5-0.
And it seems the former Liverpool man is a big fan of the striker as he praised various attributes of Nketiah’s play in the number nine role.
He said: “He’s very good. He’s got a real smell for it, hasn’t he? He knows where the ball’s going to drop. I like his movement. I like his hunger to score goals. Some players are confidence players. If you miss a penalty and you’re a confidence player, you go missing all game.”
“If you’ve just got pure self-belief, it just shrugs off you and you’re just onto the next one. With that type of attitude, with the way he plays, he’s just going to be a goal machine all his career.” (via BT Sport (17/11; 21:30)
Should Nketiah start for Arsenal against Leeds United?
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Owen’s comments about the young forward’s confidence make for interesting reading as it seems to suggest that whilst the 5’11 ace may make mistakes in games, it won’t affect his performance levels. It was very much on display last night, when Nketiah missed a penalty, however, still managed to score a brace following that.
However, compare that to the likes of Lacazette, whose confidence seems to drop dramatically after missing simple chances. In the last two home games against Leicester City and Aston Villa, the Frenchman has missed fairly simple opportunities in the first half of the encounters before disappearing in the second.
It’s a wonder the Englishman has started just one Premier League game this season when he has such high confidence levels. When you look at Lacazette’s demeanour on the pitch in recent outings, it does make for stark reading, proving furthermore that Nketiah deserves a run of games in the side.
In other news, find out which Arsenal player could benefit from a move away from the club.
