Former Gunner Denis Suarez rates Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah so highly he actually tried to get his new club to sign the striker.

Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal scores his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah scores his side’s first goal during the Premier League match on February 23, 2020. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Denis Suarez didn’t get to have the impact he wanted during his loan spell with Arsenal, but one of the club’s young players certainly made an impression on him.

One Football talked to Suarez this week, asking whether he would sign up any of the Arsenal youngsters if he worked as a scout.

“Yes, (Eddie) Nketiah,” Suarez said. “In fact, I remember talking to Antonio Chaves (Celta Sporting Director) and telling him that there was a very promising striker coming through at Arsenal.

“He went on loan to Leeds, but things didn’t work out. And I said [Chaves] wanted a striker, he should call [Nketiah]. Now, he is slowly becoming a regular, even if not as a starter, having minutes to make an impact.

“It seems like he could be important in the coming years at Arsenal and they should take care of him because he is very talented.”

Arguably, it’s starting to reach the point where Nketiah almost is a starter for Arsenal. He missed out on the recent matches against Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City with his red card suspension but immediately stepped back into the starting lineup afterwards.

It’s nice to hear some praise for Nketiah from Suarez, anyway. The 21-year-old has nine goals this season across his spells with Leeds United and Arsenal.

It hasn’t been an easy campaign with the suspensions and injuries and the inconsistent playing time on loan, but he’ll hope to hit double figures in the next two games all the same.