"Arteries clogged up with ice" "A real hustler" - Arsenal fans laud 22-year-old's 'uncoachable quality' following sensational display against Chelsea

Arsenal fans have heaped praise on Eddie Nketiah following his 'Man-of-the-Match' performance against Chelsea on Wednesday, April 20.

The Gunners were in stark need of a win having lost their previous three league games on the bounce. A fourth defeat against Chelsea would have plunged their top four aspirations into jeopardy.

But Nketiah impressed, scoring two on the night as Mikel Arteta's men romped to a 4-2 victory over their London rivals.

It was a rare start for the 22-year-old striker, who played second-fiddle to Alexandre Lacazette for the majority of the season.

But given his opportunity, he took his chance with aplomb and Gunners fans have reacted to the English forward's sensational performance on Twitter:

Arsenal need to keep the momentum going following an impressive victory over Chelsea

The Gunners went into Wednesday's game knowing anything less than a win would give fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur the ascendancy in a closely fought top-four race.

With just six games remaining, Arsenal were fifth, three points off of Spurs. A win over Chelsea would see them move level on points with their north London rivals.

The poor run of form Arteta's men had been encountering prior was worrying given how impressive they had been throughout the season.

But as soon as Nketiah struck in the 13th minute, you could tell the Gunners meant business.

It was a pulsating affair with both sides eager to get one over their cross-city neighbors.

Timo Werner's 17th minute equalizer was a hard one for Arsenal fans given the huge deflection it took en route to Aaron Ramsdale's goal.

But then Emile Smith-Rowe continued his fine run of form this season. The Englishman struck another delightful effort in the 27th minute before yet again Chelsea would equalize in a matter of minutes through Cesar Azpilicueta.

Both sides went hammer and tong in the second-half in what was an entertaining game and truly lived up to its billing.

Nketiah then showed his tenaciousness in not giving up on a loose ball as he pounced on the 57th minute to have the Gunners in the driving seat.

A contentious penalty was then afforded to Arteta's side deep into stoppage time, with Azpilicueta being adjudged to have brought Bukayo Saka down. The English star got rid of his spot-kick nightmare at the European Championships with an emphatically placed penalty to wrap up the victory.

Arsenal will now look to push on in their fight with Spurs for UEFA Champions League qualification through a fourth-placed finish.

Next up for Arteta's side is a clash with fellow top four challengers Manchester United, who are seemingly at their rock bottom.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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