Arsenal have a commanding lead in their Europa League last-16 clash with Olympiacos, after winning 3-1 in Athens.

Arsenal have one foot in the Europa League quarter finals after beating Olymiacos 3-1 away from home. Goals from Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny have given Mikel Arteta's side a commanding lead, despite another glaring error gifting the hosts a route back into the game. 

Arteta opted to name a strong XI, with their priorities now geared towards a run in this competition, but one player that wasn't present at all in the matchday squad was Eddie Nketiah.

It’s just over 12 months since Marcelo Bielsa launched into a rant at Nketiah, claiming he had underestimated Leeds United as ‘an institution’.

He was speaking days after the young striker had terminated his loan deal with the Championship promotion chasers, due to a lack of playing time.

After his time with the Whites was cut short, it was understood he would be sent back to the second tier, in order to play more regular football.

That didn’t materialise, with Mikel Arteta deciding to keep him in north London as he assessed his options after replacing Unai Emery.

Nketiah went on to make 13 league appearances in the remainder of that season, as well as a short cameo in the FA Cup final win over Chelsea.


To all intents and purposes, it appeared that the England Under-21 international had proven himself as a rotational part of Arteta’s squad.

And that looked to be the case in the early portion of the season, as Nketiah made a number of appearances off the bench.

But since the turn of the year it has seemingly all changed. In the 11 Premier League matches in 2021, he has played just 10 minutes.

In the last six, he has failed to even make the bench, with Arteta admitting the lack of minutes was stunting his development.

"He needs to play and we've been wanting to use him a little bit more on some occasions and we didn't," he said last month.

"To be fair, when he's played, he's played well, but at his age and for what he's done the last two or three seasons, he needs more minutes.”

Against Olympiacos in the Europa League, a competition he has played in more than any other, he may have been expecting a place in the matchday squad.

But even with the ability to name 12 and make five substitutions, the 21-year-old still missed out.

The fact that Arteta opted to name two keepers, included untested Karl Hein, perhaps says it all.

"It's something we have to talk about openly and make the right decision,” Arteta said when asked about Nketiah going out to get minutes.

But at his age, there may be a question about his long-term credentials at the Emirates Stadium.

The Arsenal boss has now had more than a year to make his judgements on his players and the signs point to the fact that Nketiah’s judgement isn’t a positive one.

West Ham were heavily linked with a transfer in the January window, only to be priced out of a move. But with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2022, this summer could mark a time for both parties to move on.

Arteta has spoken well about the academy graduate. However, actions speak louder than words and his decision in Athens was the clearest sign yet.