Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has revealed why Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah is not currently starting in the Championship.
Bielsa claims that Patrick Bamford, who starts ahead of him, runs for the team whilst Nkeitah only runs so that he can score a goal himself.
Twitter: Marcelo Bielsa…never change #LUFC https://t.co/vTVdeDzK9N (@footie5official)
Twitter: Bielsa saying that Bamford runs more for the team. The distance that Nketiah covers is concentrated on scoring goal… https://t.co/GIWhLFTaKh (@PhilHay_)
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Should Arsenal recall him in January?
If he continues to sit on the bench, yes. There is no point in sending him to sit on the bench in the Championship if he can do that for Arsenal in the Premier League. It would be far more beneficial for him to join another Championship side on loan where he would be able to play regular football up front in order to aid his development.
He has scored three Championship goals from 220 minutes of action this season, compared to Bamford’s four goals in 988 minutes. This shows that Nketiah does have the goalscoring ability to play regularly at that level, which also means that he will be being wasted if he continues to watch on from the sidelines.
However, Bielsa could change his mind in the next couple of months and begin to start Nketiah in the Championship, which would alleviate any problems for Arsenal. Unai Emery will be hoping he gets as many minutes as possible ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
