Paul Merson says Eddie Nketiah reminded him of Arsenal icon Ian Wright with his deadly double against Chelsea.
But while former Gunners great Merson reckons Mikel Arteta should now play Nketiah every week until the end of the season, he doesn't believe the striker's future is at Arsenal. Nketiah scored his first Premier League goals in a year as Arteta's men snapped a three-match losing streak to win 4-2 at Stamford Bridge and march back into the top four race.
And Magic Man Merson admits Nketiah lacks the consistency of Wright, one of Arsenal's greatest ever goalscorers. But Merson, who watched the game in his role as a Sky TV pundit, feels the 22-year-old should keep his place against Manchester United now.
Merson wrote in his Daily Star column: "Eddie Nketiah reminded me of Ian Wright against Chelsea and he should play every game now for Arsenal until the end of the season. He is a better finisher than Alexandre Lacazette and should score more goals, so I'd leave him in there and let him have a run in the team.
"But he is not the long-term answer. He could play tomorrow against Manchester United and be a 4/10. There's no consistency. It's like there's something missing. And that's why he'll probably leave in the summer. He says they've made him an offer and he's delaying his decision.
"He probably thinks he'll get more game time elsewhere because he knows Arsenal will buy a striker this summer. And to be honest, I don't see him scoring 25 goals for Arsenal next season even if he did stay, so maybe it's for the best if he leaves.
"But for right now, he has to play. Something is missing. But you watch him against Chelsea and the kid's a goalscorer. He scored two unbelievable goals. I played with one of the greatest in Wrighty and both of those goals he scored were Wrighty all over. I can't see Lacazette scoring goals like those.
"For the first one, he anticipated the backpass, cut across the defender and put it in the corner. It was just like watching Wrighty. He's got that in his locker. But the big difference is that Wrighty was like that every week.
"Arsenal made tons of chances in the games before that one but didn't have a natural goalscorer on the pitch. They did against Chelsea. He just needs to work on his consistency. And this is the problem Mikel Arteta has. There is a reason he hasn't played many games for Arsenal."
Merson also claims the top-four race is back in his old club's hands now with Spurs still having to go to Liverpool on May 7. He said: "It's all about timing. Chelsea have just had a tough week with the Champions League and an FA Cup semi-final, and they put out a weakened team full of fringe players. If you were Tottenham you would have seen that Chelsea teamsheet and been spewing. But Arsenal still had to do the business.
"For a team that had been struggling to score in the last few games, they certainly turned it on. Fair play to them. That was a massive result and it's in their hands now. Spurs have to go away to Liverpool and I can't see them getting anything out of that.
"The trouble is, I'm not sure Arsenal beat Manchester United either. They will have to put a real shift in. This is a difficult game. United have nothing to lose. If Arsenal turn up expecting to win, they could be in trouble. And it's Catch 22 for them with Nketiah because if he keeps playing like that he'll want more in wages to stay - and there will be other teams coming in for him."
