Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah has a warning for north London rivals Tottenham.
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah has reminded Tottenham that this season still has a long way to go in the Premier League.
Spurs have started the season extremely well under new coach Ange Postecoglou and are unbeaten after 10 matches and top the table.
Arsenal are also unbeaten and are just two points behind their north London rivals, having scored more goals and conceded fewer.
The Gunners are looking for better results than last season after spending 248 days at the top only for Manchester City to win the championship again.
Mikel Arteta’s side reduced the gap from five points to two on Saturday by beating struggling Sheffield United 5-0.
Nketiah, 24 years old, scored an excellent hat-trick with a beautiful long-range shot to complete the hat-trick.
And then the new England international warned Spurs that it would be a long season – with 28 games still to play before the climax.
He said: “It was a tiring championship.
But we aim to get back at it.
We want to be up there, keep trying.
” When asked about his place in the Arsenal team, Nketiah – who is tipped to replace Gabriel Jesus – added: “I’m just focused on being the best player I can be and getting better every day.
I know how well I can play when I compete, when I work hard and my teammates trust and believe in me.
“For me that’s the most important thing – the rest is just noise.
Sometimes you get credit, sometimes you don’t.
You just have to be consistent and keep working hard every day.
I try to be there and gain the manager’s trust so that when I arrive, he can trust me.
“It’s just good habits, improving every day, overcoming yourself, in front of goal, with your back to goal, moving, pressing and giving everything to your teammates.
The more I play, the more I play.
the more I learn – when things go wrong or right – and make sure I correct them next time.
“It’s good to play regularly and I’ll improve the more I play.
Whatever role I’m given, whether it’s five minutes, two minutes, 10 minutes, I just want to help the team and my main goal is to contribute and “I’ve been a supporter of the club since I was a child So scoring a hat-trick in front of fans, friends, family and teammates was an indescribable feeling.
It’s a day I will remember forever.
”
Nketiah could have even ended the day with a rare four goals but allowed Fabio Vieira to take a late penalty which the Portuguese striker earned himself.
The central striker added: “I was going to marry him, I wanted to marry him.
I always wanted to score more goals.
“But Fabio came to me and said he wanted to marry him.He also won the penalty.
He’s looking forward to a little something and this is a great time for him to be on the team sheet and focus on it.
I am a team player.
“I scored a hat-trick to get the other players involved in the game.
He took the penalty and scored, so we’re happy.
” Arsenal face some tough tests over the next 10 days with a Carabao Cup tie against West Ham followed by a Premier League trip to Newcastle and Sevilla’s trip to the Emirates in the Champions League.
