Former Arsenal striker John Hartson says the amount of competition for places in the Gunners’ frontline may make it difficult for striker Eddie Nketiah to get chances to play.

The 20-year-old once again impressed for England Under 21s as he bagged a hat-trick in their 5-1 win over Austria last week, but he has found himself out on loan at Leeds this season. Even though he is a very talented player, Hartson doesn’t know if he’ll get game time under Unai Emery:

“Obviously the boy wants to play every week. He’s banging the goals in for England’s U21s so you can’t blame him. I think strikers always want to play.”

“But if you look at Arsenal at the minute, they seem spoilt for strikers. They have Alexandre Lacazette, they have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they have the boy Gabriel Martinelli, who looks like he could be a really good player.”

Nketiah is doing all he can to stake his claim for more first-team chances. He has been impressing at Leeds, as well as at international level, but he hasn’t established himself as a first-team regular for the Championship club.

If he can become the Whites’ first-choice striker, and start scoring a fair few goals between now and the end of the season, it will give him the best opportunity to become a more important player in Arsenal’s squad next campaign.