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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
JOE KRISHNAN

Eddie Nketiah's Leeds United debut has given Arsenal fans good reason for optimism

Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah got off the mark for Leeds United with a goal 43 minutes into his debut for the Championship club.

The 20-year-old, who arrived at Elland Road on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day on Thursday, was handed his first start by coach Marcelo Bielsa in Leeds' Carabao Cup tie at Salford City.

Nketiah wasted no time in making an impression for his new club, breaking the deadlock just two minutes before the interval.

The forward is renowned for his sharpshooting accuracy and it came as no surprise when the poacher scored with his first shot on target, tapping home from close range after meeting Helder Costa's low cross.

The England youth international is highly-rated at the Emirates Stadium and played a significant role in the Gunners’ pre-season campaign, having scored his first Premier League goal on the final day of last season.

(Getty Images)

Arsenal responded to Leeds' tweet of Nketiah's goal with the message: "Just @EddieNketiah9 doing what @EddieNketiah9 does".

Nketiah is still behind star duo Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the pecking order, while club record signing Nicolas Pepe can also play up front.

(PA)

But with more goalscoring performances such as this, Nketiah may force Unai Emery to think about keeping him in his first-team plans.

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