Eddie Nketiah was mocked for turning down Ghana World Cup call but in-form Arsenal striker could now be in Gareth Southgate’s next England squad as Mikel Arteta says ‘I love him’
For footballers playing in a World Cup is their ultimate dream, so passing up on the opportunity is always going to raise eyebrows.
For Eddie Nketiah, though, he made the tough choice not to go, despite likely having a starting berth with Ghana.
The Lewisham-born Arsenal striker has Ghanaian parents, which meant he was on Chris Hughton’s shortlist when the former Brighton boss began assessing the country’s Qatar options.
Technical advisor Hughton and the Black Stars had some big success too, with Athletic Bilbao’s ironman Inaki Williams signing up, leaving Spain who he featured for in a friendly, while Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey ended his journey with England’s youth teams to also join.
Both got to feature at the biggest competition in sport, and after a win over South Korea, they took part in one of the tournament’s most thrilling matchdays, where a loss to Uruguay incredibly saw both teams knocked out.
Nketiah could have been part of it, and even made the difference, with social media ablaze with users questioning his decision to turn down the country.
That’s despite him being England Under-21’s all-time top scorer, but things were starting to look more like Francis Jeffers in that list, than Alan Shearer.
Earlier that summer the 23-year-old had said he was ‘open’ to both England and Ghana in an interview, but seemingly upset the latter when he turned down his World Cup chance.
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It was reported that Ghana FA president Kurt Okraku ‘closed the door’ on Nketiah, despite ‘several attempts’ to lure him away.
Even so, when landing in the African country for a holiday shortly before the World Cup, he received a hero's welcome, which may have raised doubts.
Nketiah, though, remained steadfast, despite reaching the age of 23 and no longer being eligible for England’s Under-21s, entering international footballing purgatory.
And with many left questioning his England chances after turning down his biggest opportunity with Ghana, his options at Arsenal weren’t much better.
With £50million summer signing from Manchester City, Gabriel Jesus, firing on all cylinders, things were looking bleak for Nketiah, seeing starts just in the Europa League and cups.
However, with the superstar Brazilian out with a long-term injury, Nketiah has more than stepped up to the plate.
His brace against Manchester United in a 3-2 Premier League win was one of the grandest moments for the Gunners in recent memory, and he now has four league goals, despite only starting in five of his 17 appearances.
He’s also netted on three occasions before that during Jesus’ absence, keeping Arsenal’s title charge well on track despite his critics.
Mikel Arteta was just as impressed as anyone after the United win, and summed up the youngster's mentality better than anyone.
"He fully deserves the opportunities he's having and he's taken it with both hands," the Spaniard said.
"His desire, his attitude, his quality, his goal threat, the players love him, I love him.
"He needs to enjoy it because he fully deserves it, he's been patient and he's getting rewarded."
England manager Gareth Southgate is well-known for rewarding loyalty with Conor Gallagher a recent example.
The Chelsea man returned to the Under-21s after his first team exploits and his professionalism landed him a World Cup spot.
Nketiah too has shown just how much the Three Lions mean to him, and on current form it’s hard to argue against him not making his graduation to the senior side.
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England are back in action in March with European Championship qualifiers against Ukraine and Italy, and by then Jesus will likely be back in the frame for Arsenal.
But given Nketiah’s hot streak in comparison to the options available to Southgate, we may be in for two fun-filled months of Arsenal’s No.14 again proving the doubters wrong.