Danny Murphy has insisted that Eddie Nketiah can outscore Gabriel Jesus and keep Arsenal's title dream alive.
Nketiah, 23, has suddenly been thrust into Mikel Arteta's side after Jesus was forced to undergo surgery for a knee injury he sustained at the World Cup. The Gunners academy graduate scored in successive Premier League games after the mid-season break but did blank in Tuesday night's frustrating 0-0 draw against Newcastle.
Various people have questioned whether or not Nketiah is capable of leading the line for Arsenal as they attempt to claim their first league title since 2004. Murphy, however, believes that Nketiah can outscore Jesus, who was struggling for form before the World Cup.
Jesus failed to score in 11 games before picking up an injury. And Murphy has backed Nketiah to step up after scoring twice in three outings since being nudged into the Gunners team.
"I like him [Nketiah]," Murphy told talkSPORT. "Well, Jesus, before he went away didn’t score in 11. And [Nketiah has] started three and scored two. Now, he might not give you the other things Jesus gives you. But I think he’d score more goals in this Arsenal team, because they make chances. And his link-up’s not bad."
Nketiah did catch the eye against Newcastle but struggled to breach the Premier League's leanest defence and spurned a golden chance in the final minutes of the match to steal the points.
Jesus, who was expected to miss three months after suffering ligament damage, shared a snap of himself walking without crutches and was at the Emirates on Tuesday night supporting his teammates.
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Arsenal have been reluctant to put an exact timeframe on Jesus' return and it remains to be seen if they will dip into the transfer market for another No.9 in January.
Arteta, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted that he has every confidence in Nketiah to deliver after spending the majority of the season as Jesus' understudy following the Brazilian's £45million switch in the summer.
While others, such as former Arsenal favourite Paul Merson, have claimed that Arsenal's title tilt will suffer if the Gunners depend on Nketiah, Arteta insists that he has "more faith" in the striker "every single day" as the Londoners prepare to try and pip Manchester City to the title during the second half of the season.
Speaking recently, Arteta said: "I’ve more faith in Eddie every single day, because we see every day what he brings to the team, what he is as a human being, the way he is developing as a player. He is ready, that is why he signed his contract – he is key player in our squad."
