Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah marked his return to Stamford Bridge with a brace as the Gunners waltzed past Chelsea 4-2 on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old striker, who arrived at London Colney having been turned away from Cobham as a youngster, has given Mikel Arteta's side renewed hope in the race for a Champions League finish.
Nketiah opened the scoring in the London derby inside the opening quarter of an hour after latching onto a stray pass from Andreas Christensen, which threaded him on goal with only Edouard Mendy to beat. The former England youth international - who sees his contact at the Emirates expire at the end of the season - doubled his tally to give Arsenal the lead, handing Arteta a decision to make ahead of the summer transfer window.
The north Londoners are now level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and just five adrift of Chelsea, though Thomas Tuchel's side have a game in hand. Following Nketiah's heroics, he spoke to Sky Sports and detailed how his rejection from the Blues gave him an edge.
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"I think scoring it here makes it that little bit more special," he said. "You always have that chip on your shoulder to come here and to try and prove yourself. But today, I scored two goals. It’s not about me, it’s about the team and bouncing back and getting the three points."
Nketiah added by explaining the magnitude of Arsenal's win, having lost each of the three previous Premier League clashes. He said: "It was a big result, losing three on the bounce and I think everyone knew we had to perform. It was a derby and we gave 100%. To score four goals here, it is not easy, so credit to the boys."
The former Chelsea academy prospect concluded by the explaining the joy drawn from a derby win. Nketiah outlined the confidence Arsenal have taken from a back-and-forth tie.
"It gives us confidence," he added. "I think we have all stuck together through the difficult times and we have shown that we can bounce back through these setbacks and today is a great result. It is always nice to win a derby and we hope that we can keep on getting those three points to finish off the season."
