Eddie Nketiah pushed for a loan move to Germany last month, but Unai Emery ended up pulling the plug on the deal, according to reports.

It was fairly common knowledge towards the end of the January transfer window that Nketiah was close to completing a loan to Bundesliga club Augsburg, but the i Newspaper revealed some further details about the situation this week.

The newspaper claims Arsenal have been advising the young striker to go on loan for 18 months, but he repeatedly turned down the opportunity until this January. Then, inspired by Jadon Sancho’s success, he requested a move to Germany and even held a medical with Augsburg.

Nketiah reportedly had offers from Bordeaux and Girona, among other options, but he was only interested in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately, when Arsenal failed to sign Yannick Carrasco or Ivan Perisic as attacking cover, Emery vetoed the deal at the last minute.

It’s a shame the youngster doesn’t get the chance to go and play somewhere regularly, though he’ll hopefully still benefit from being around the Arsenal first team every day.

Plus, there may well be opportunities for some more senior minutes this season. If the BATE Borisov tie goes well, Nketiah could get a run out from the bench or from the start of the second leg. The problem is that every match has become so crucial at this stage.

Let’s hope Nketiah makes the most of the chances he does get between now and May.