Eddie Nketiah has thanked his boss Arsene Wenger for giving him a first-team opportunity, with the teenager scoring both goals in the Gunners’ 2-1 win over Norwich City last night, Arsenal blog report.
Nketiah was brought on in the 85th minute as Wenger’s last roll of the dice and it took the 18-year-old 15 seconds to get his name on the scoresheet and bring Arsenal level, before heading in the winner during extra time as the Gunners avoided an embarrassing fourth-round exit.
Talking after his ‘dream’ home debut, Nketiah admitted how he tried to emulate three of his Arsenal heroes, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright and was thankful to the fans for their support.
I’m just thankful for the boss for giving me that opportunity to play and show what I can do – it’s a dream come true for me to get on and score not just one, but two goals to win us the game.
I’ve always dreamt of this as a kid and hopefully they can continue to support me and I can continue to get chances and impress them really, that’s what it’s about.
I grew up watching Thierry, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright. They were all great strikers and attacking players and I watched them a lot.
Nketiah has been a proven goal scorer at Arsenal over the past two seasons at youth level, scoring 42 times after Chelsea decided not to give him a professional contract, prompting Wenger to bring the forward to the Emirates.
