-Arsenal have announced Eddie Nketiah has signed a new contract.
The striker’s old deal expired this summer and he looked set to leave after rejecting multiple attempts to get him to sign an extension.
Yet following extensive talks in recent weeks, and having enjoyed a successful end to the 2021-22 season which saw him start eight consecutive Premier League games, a new contract has now been agreed.
Nketiah has agreed a five-year deal, which will run until 2027.
He becomes the latest product of Arsenal’s Hale End academy to sign a new long-term extension, following on from Bukayo Saka in 2020 and Emile Smith Rowe in 2021.
As well as signing a new deal, Nketiah has also taken on Arsenal’s legendary No.14 – the shirt worn by all-time record scorer Thierry Henry.
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Arsenal confirmed Nketiah’s new contract on Saturday afternoon, ending the hopes of clubs like Crystal Palace and Brighton who were all hoping to sign the 22-year-old.
Manager Mikel Arteta told the club website: “I’m delighted Eddie is staying with us. He represents what we are all about and all the values of the club.
“We are very happy that he has extended his contract and now we have to get to work and continue to develop the great talent and person that we have in him.”
The last few months have seen a major turnaround in fortunes for Nketiah.
Up until April 16, he hadn’t started a single Premier League game and looked certain to be leaving for free, before Arteta gave him a chance in place of the misfiring Alexandre Lacazette.
It was a chance Nketiah grasped with both hands, scoring five goals in eight starts.
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The form he showed saw Arsenal double their efforts to keep him at the club and now he has been rewarded with a lucrative long-term deal.
Nketiah’s challenge now is to maintain the type of form he showed during that run at the end of last season. He must prove that it was not just a flash in the pan.
He has an opportunity now to really cement himself as an important figure at the club and prove his doubters – of which there are still many – wrong.
There will be lots of talk about Nketiah taking on the No.14 shirt, but what it does show is that the youngster is certainly not short on confidence.
He now has big boots to fill at Arsenal. Whether he can do that, remains to be seen.
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