F365 says: Nketiah deserves to be summoned to the hearing as a replacement for Welbeck

Unai Emery did a commendable job in arousing some enthusiasm for Arsenal's trip to Ukraine, where less than 70 hours before the first derby in North London, he trained his already trained Gunners to take on Vorskla Poltava, who had already been eliminated.

"The Europa League is very important to us and it is very important for us to win and be first in this group. Young players will have chances. "

The hosts, 200 miles from home, failed to muster a similar appetite and the enthusiasm of youth was enough to give Arsenal the simplest of victories and warm the hulls of their director in the least 12, cold conditions on the bones.

Aaron Ramsey, which is apparently part of Arsenal's past, his penalty was sandwiched by the first-half takings of two players with a great chance to play a role in Arsenal's future. Emile Smith Rowe opened the scoring with his third goal in four appearances before Joe Willock killed the tie four minutes before half-time with his first senior goal.

The only member of Emery's young club, who was not on the scoresheet, was perhaps the one who needed a goal the most. None of Arsenal's teens – there were six full-time field men – had more to gain from an impressive performance in the frozen Olympic stadium than Eddie Nketiah, who had to wait for his chance under Emery. After reflection, the 19-year-old striker would like to have done more with that.

The end-of-season injury of Danny Welbeck Arsenal's last Europa League match against Sporting Lisbon set the stage for the first Nketiah team. "The first thing to look in," said Emery when discuss how the Gunners could replace the scorer of England. "We have an attacker who works well in under 23 years and who also improves – Eddie Nketiah."

If it was an audition, the under-21 England striker would have enough to deserve a reminder of Qarabag, but Emery will seek reassurance before to offer the young man a leading role this season.

Nketiah offered a strangely realistic representation of Welbeck. He ran tirelessly and offered occasional glimpses of creativity and unpredictability around the surface, but the most crucial is that his finish was mediocre. With a chance in both halves, Nketiah waved his lines, cutting for the first time after removing the Vorskla goalkeeper from his line, before having gone wrong when given the time and space in the surface repair in the second period.

Arsenal's No. 49 played a direct role in their first match after a great combination with Ramsey. Nketiah was making his way past the last defender, but with control of the elusive ball, it was up to Smith Rowe to tidy up the whole thing by hitting the ball into the goal, making the result simpler than he did. Was probably.

Nketiah's reaction to this chain of events is subject to interpretation. On the ball tucked in the net, Nketiah's impulse was to put his hands in his face, apparently dismayed by the fact that his luck had passed, even though Arsenal had finally taken theirs. He carried this air of desperation into the penalty area for most of the night, especially during a second half during which several colleagues headed for the goal at a slightly sharper angle. that where Nketiah stood – not always in space.

Nketiah was the most enthusiastic of the first three to impress and Smith Rowe was probably the most likely, but Willock increased his potential.

Joe Willock's match in figures against Vorskla:

54 keys
27 passes
4 completed plays
3 shots
3 shots on target
3 apparatus
1 chance created
1 goal

Domination of European games at 19 years old. pic.twitter.com/ax3DZIMXoj

– Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 29, 2018

The 19-year-old played in Premier League matches at Newcastle and Manchester United under Arsene Wenger last season, but his first appearance under Emery was a goal-scoring effort. magnificent. Willock recovered the ball to Mohamed Elneny after another Vorskla error before heading to the penalty area and using a retreating defender as a screen behind which he was coldly shooting in the farthest corner. This is the type of finish that could remind Arsenal somebody …

Emery's first priority was to get the victory needed to get to the first place of the group without any hassle. That goal and an undefeated 18th match were achieved two thirds of the match. The rest of the freezing night allowed the manager to take a closer look at Arsenal's future. The first three have all shown that they can be part of it, but Nketiah has yet to show that he can also play a more important role in the present.

Ian Watson