Arsenal will be kicking off their Europa League campaign later today with an away clash against Zurich in the group stage of the tournament.
The Gunners’ previous game saw them pick up their first Premier League defeat of the season at the hands of Manchester United, who beat Arsenal 3-1 at Old Trafford last weekend.
Now that Mikel Arteta’s side will be switching to European mode this evening, this will not only give them a great chance to get their Europa League campaign off to a strong start but also give them the opportunity to put the defeat against United behind them.
In terms of what the starting XI could look like for the north London club today, one figure in Arsenal’s squad that we feel should get their first start of the season on this occasion is Eddie Nketiah.
Despite appearing in all six of the Gunners’ Premier League matches this season, the striker has made all of these appearances from the bench as a substitute.
Last season saw the 23-year-old score five goals in 21 league appearances, eight of which he started.
To further highlight how deadly he is in front of goal, Nketiah ended the campaign with the highest rate of shots at goal per 90 minutes (3.02) out of Arsenal players to score at least one goal.
Also, only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (1.39) had a higher rate of shots on target per 90 minutes than the Englishman (1.29).
This shows why the centre-forward was described as being “clinical” by journalist Lawrence Baidoo on Twitter after Nketiah scored against Leeds United last season.
It also shows just how much of a terrifying prospect the £45k-per-week attacker could be for Zurich’s defenders and goalkeeper.
Even though Gabriel Jesus has started every league game for Arsenal this season and scored three goals and provided three assists in the process, this could be an ideal time for Arteta to give the Brazilian a rest and see if Nketiah can fill in for him sufficiently.
