Eddie Nketiah Names The Three Arsenal Players He’s Remained In Contact With

By The Editor
on 21st December 2024

Nketiah is still close to the Arsenal boys…

Crystal Palace striker Eddie Nketiah revealed that he’s still in contact with a number of figures at his former club, including Gunners trio Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber.

Speaking to Sky Sports as he gets ready to face his former side for the second time in a matter of days, Nketiah admitted that there are no hard feelings from his time at the Emirates Stadium.

A graduate from our famed Hale End academy, Nketiah was sold to the Eagles last summer for a fee in the region of £30 million – a financial package that aided our PSR balance sheet.

Nketiah has already found the net against us, scoring a sensational header in our Carabao Cup win against the south London side in what proved to be just a consolation goal.

With Eberechie Eze out of the game, it will be interesting to see if the 25-year-old is handed a rare Premier League start.

“I speak to quite a few, to be fair,” Nketiah said when asked if he’s still in contact with people at Arsenal.

“Bukayo, Timber, Thomas – I’ve got good mates there, I grew up there and played together many years.

“Even some of the staff, I would say those are some of the people you miss most – the people that always go the extra mile. It will be nice to see a few familiar faces.”

Of the players name-checked by Nketiah, it’s interesting that he grew close to Timber despite spending just 12 months together – with the Dutchman injured for most of that time.

It speaks to the impact the former Ajax man has had in the squad, illustrated by how he’s responded to that serious injury and looking like he’s never been away.

As for the sentiment, I hope Wednesday night was Nketiah’s last goal against us and he doesn’t become a new version of Nicolas Anelka…