Mikel Arteta believes Eddie Nketiah has to be used against West Ham United on Wednesday, to capitalise on the weekend’s momentum.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's third and his hat-trick goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team’s third and his hat-trick goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Eddie Nketiah has had a busy season for Arsenal in 2023/24 so far, playing well over half of their available minutes in all competitions, but it feels like the weekend was when he really got going.

After a couple of goals and an assist in his first 13 appearances of the season, Nketiah scored an impressive hat-trick against Sheffield United on Saturday.

With Gabriel Jesus out injured, the question now is whether Mikel Arteta continues to use Nketiah in games like Wednesday’s League Cup tie against West Ham United.

On the one hand, Nketiah clearly has some momentum going into the game. On the other, Arsenal travel to St. James’ Park in a major Premier League fixture against Newcastle United on Saturday, so they don’t want to overplay their hat-trick scorer.

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LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Responding to questions about that dilemma ahead of the West Ham match, Arteta suggested that whilst they do need to be careful with Nketiah’s minutes, the striker also needs to be used.

The only question is whether he’ll be involved as a starter or a substitute.

“Both,” Arteta said. “We have to be conscious of the amount of minutes that they play. He has started a lot of games in the Premier League but I think in terms of how we utilise him, I think he’s fresh and in a really good moment.

“Players like Eddie have to be used, whether we do it as a starter or on the bench. We will see.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates scoring the team's first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal celebrates scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on August 12, 2023. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Nketiah has an excellent record in the League Cup, even finishing as the competition’s joint-top scorer in 2021/22.

The striker has 11 goals and one assist in 13 League Cup appearances, with that assist coming in the last round of the competition against Brentford.

Nketiah also has a couple of goals against West Ham in recent seasons, scoring twice in his 261 minutes on the pitch against the side – which is less than three full 90s. He’s unbeaten in six appearances, with Arsenal winning five.

It certainly seems like a game the 24-year-old is well suited to starting.

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