Arsenal continued their excellent record this season by defeating PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in their rearranged Europa League tie.
The victory means Mikel Arteta’s side have qualified for the knockout stage with two matches remaining and this might give him a chance to rotate his squad slightly.
Will Arsenal win the Premier League this season?
Yes
No
It was Arsenal’s eighth consecutive win and thoughts must now surely be turning to challenge for some silverware this season.
Arsenal were dominant against PSV, who relied on their goalkeeper Walter Benitez, to keep the score line just 1-0. Granit Xhaka scored the only goal of the match with a low effort that nestled into the bottom left-hand corner.
There were a lot of excellent performances, however, one player will be disappointed at how he performed as it was a big opportunity to impress the manager…
Nketiah failed to shine against PSV
Nketiah was deployed on the left wing against the Dutch side last night, however, his performance was the poorest amongst the starting XI.
Receiving a SofaScore rating of just 6.1, which was the lowest from both sides, he struggled with his composure during the tie, failing to hit the target with his five shots.
Although in a slightly unfamiliar position out on the wing, the 23-year-old completed just one successful dribble from seven attempts and delivered only one cross, which didn’t find a teammate.
Nketiah’s defensive contributions were also poor, losing possession a staggering 14 times during the match and losing 73% of his total duels suggested that he has still to mature properly and his negligence for such tasks could have cost Arteta all three points.
Writer and Arsenal fan Ifreke Inyang dubbed the player as “rubbish” last night and his stats from the encounter certainly justify his criticism.
The forward has been deprived of Premier League action so far this campaign, not starting any of the club’s first ten matches and while he has scored twice in the Europa League, more domestic minutes will further develop his game.
Nketiah failed to take his rare chance to impress last night and this could prove costly ahead of another crucial league fixture against Southampton on Sunday.
