Eddie Nketiah praised Thierry Henry as “magnificent” for helping him develop into an Arsenal striker deserving of a senior England call-up.
The 24-year-old, who leads England’s Under-21 scoring charts, was included for the first time in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the forthcoming matches against Scotland and Ukraine.
Nketiah last played for England Under-21s in 2021, six years after making his Arsenal debut.
In 136 games for the Gunners, he has scored 34 goals, beginning with a memorable home debut off the bench against Norwich, where he scored a brace to seal victory in an EFL Cup match.
Despite making a splash, Nketiah’s choices were confined to the lower-level cup competitions, and a poor loan stint at Leeds in the Sky Bet Championship was considered another disappointment.
He was able to probe the brains of the club’s all-time leading scorer and former captain during his formative years at Arsenal, the team he joined after being released by Chelsea at the age of 14.
He said, “Thierry has been fantastic for me.
He allowed me to bounce ideas off of him as a first-year scholar at 16, which was great. It was one of my best and most enjoyable seasons. He also gave me a lot of confidence, and he is still supportive and helpful to this day whenever I see him.
Nketiah, who now sports the former France World Cup winner’s old number 14 shirt, was asked what the best piece of advice he had ever received from him. He responded, “Probably simply to believe in yourself.
He entered the room, noticed a talent I had when I was 16 or 17, and told me to trust in myself regardless of what anyone else said. That is what will inspire and motivate you. One of the best bits of advise I’ve ever heard is definitely that.
“I believe he is knowledgeable, so I don’t have a bad feeling,”
Nketiah witnessed Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe emerge as the next promising academy talent to come off the Hale End production line, with the former now a clear favorite of Southgate, as he contended for a starting spot under Unai Emery—and now Mikel Arteta.
When asked if he was worried about maybe missing out on his own international opportunity, Nketiah responded, “I’m still young.
Everybody’s journey is unique. Everyone needs to put their attention on their own tale and path today rather than focusing on anyone else’s. Our professional journeys have been entirely different. At different times, we’ve got various opportunities.
“I believe I have improved as a player significantly over the past two to three years. It’s incredibly lovely, and I’m entering at the perfect time.
I’m young and humble enough to realize I’m not the finished product, but I feel confident and prepared to keep improving.
After Ghana, the country where his parents were born, made efforts to entice him to play for the Black Stars, Nketiah had the option of choosing to change his allegiance.
But after receiving the call, he realized that sticking to his guns was the appropriate course to take.
He continued, “I think certainly both sides were always an option.
“I think naturally coming through the English academy obviously you have the aspiration to play here and like I said, once the call-up was there and the offer was on the table it was really hard to turn down and something which I felt was a natural progression for myself at this stage,” the player added.
“I thought this was a good time to take that step, so obviously I’m really happy to be here and proud to be here like I said, hopefully I can go on and help the team this week and get some caps,” said the player.
