When a player reaches the end of their contract, the idea of the club that is losing the player having much control of the outcome of their future is often far from the case.
However, Arsenal will thank Eddie Nketiah for his performances of late which most recently saw the 22-year-old forward bag a hattrick in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Sunderland. A 5-1 win allowed the Gunners to progress to the semis of the competition but the England u21 record goalscorer stole the headlines and the man of the match award for his clinical display.
With just six months remaining on his contract and so far no breakthrough in talks with the club over a new deal, his future seemingly lies away from the Emirates.
However, Arsenal are now in the position where they possess one of the countries most valuable and available assets. Mikel Arteta maintains he wants to keep the player and said as much after the game but the likelihood remains low.
"I tell you every day that we want to keep Eddie. We see how he trains, that’s what he does every day, he works so hard and puts the ball in the net every session. I am really delighted with him. Every time we have needed him he has always responded," said Arteta in his post-match press conference.
With many clubs in the Premier League, in particular, looking at their standing and goal tallies, the concern will quickly grow, and the winter window will be used in an attempt to acquire a player who can assure them a return.
Brighton and Hove Albion under Graham Potter are a side who simply are not scoring at a rate reflective of the number of chances they are creating.
With the clinical display against Sunderland, the Seagulls will surely have to consider what Nketiah could bring to their side in the second half of the campaign.
Recently acquired Newcastle United have ambitions to reach European qualification, but first they need to survive the drop and whilst Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin have been standouts, not enough goals are being scored to save them.
Bearing in mind the last player the Magpies acquired from Arsenal in January, Joe Willock, single-handedly saved them from falling into the Championship. They may be therefore encouraged to pull off the same trick again with a view to developing Nketiah alongside his former Gunners teammate.
There is sure to be plenty of teams interested beyond the aforementioned pair of Premier League sides and Arsenal technical director Edu needs to manage the situation with the club’s financial interests as a priority.
Should the club be able to begin a bidding war for the player, what looked once an inevitable loss in the summer could turn out to be a serious profit to be reinvested into a marquee striker that Arsenal can sign in the coming months.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way! The Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews. You can follow Tom Canton from the TAW team to keep up to date with his work.
