Nketiah opens up on Ceballos bust-up after duo combine to score Arsenal winner
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Eddie Nketiah says he and Dani Ceballos have put their angry confrontation firmly behind them after the pair linked up to score Arsenal’s winner over West Ham.
The Gunners stars clashed before the 3-0 win over Fulham on the opening day of the season, with Nketiah furious about a heavy challenge by the Spaniard.
But the duo combined to score a late winner against a resolute West Ham team, with Ceballos squaring the ball to Nketiah to poke home with five minutes remaining.
Manager Mikel Arteta’s decision to bring Nketiah off the bench in the 77th minute proved an inspired one, while the 21-year-old insists “it’s all love” between him and Ceballos.
(Image: Getty Images)
“We had a bit of a coming together,” Nketiah told Sky Sports . “The reaction was there. We made up and got on with it. It was nice for him to make the assist. It’s all love now.
“It was a great pass across, good vision. I tried to stay onside. It was an easy finish from there.
“I want to keep improving as a player. It’s a great feeling to come on and score.
Does Nketiah deserve a start after his late heroics against the Irons? Have your say here.
(Image: Getty Images)
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“West Ham made it very difficult. They came out very strongly in the second half.”
Nketiah’s goal was his eighth in 39 Arsenal appearances and Arteta hailed the England U21 international for his desire to get on the scoresheet.
“Eddie can do that every week. He’s hungry and has a great quality to score goals,” the Gunners boss told BBC Sport .
The result means Arsenal have won their opening two games this season ahead of a difficult run of fixtures which sees them travel to Leicester in the Carabao Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Though Arteta was delighted with the result, he admitted there are many areas his side needs to improve in.
“I’m thrilled with the three points,” the Spaniard added. “I said before the game how difficult it would be with the way they play.
“We made it even more difficult in the first 15 minutes with the amount of balls we gave away and the open spaces we gave them to run into.
“I’m glad we found the right moment and kept competing and believing, with good momentum in the last 25 minutes.
“We created many other situations. But we gave too many opportunities to the opponent in the final third. There are still a lot of things we need to get better at.”
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