"I will never accept that" - Arsenal star insists he will not settle for bench role as he wants to be 'the best'

Eddie Nketiah has insisted that he won't settle for a bench role at Arsenal and will fight for first-team minutes under Mikel Arteta.

The English forward joined the Gunners' academy from Chelsea's youth set-up in 2015. He has mustered 32 goals and five assists in 131 senior games across competitions for them since then.

However, 74 of those appearances have come from the bench. He has evidently struggled to make himself the undisputed No. 9 at the Emirates so far. But he is not in north London to continue playing in a secondary role.

The striker said in a recent interview, via LeedsLive (h/t JustArsenal.com):

"No, I don’t think I have accepted that [bench role] and I will never accept that. That’s not my mentality. That’s not why I signed here to sit and be second best. I want to be the best. I want to play and that’s the mentality I have.

"I realise I might not play every game and that’s the coach’s decision but it’s never going to be my mentality to accept not playing. I am going to always push in training to get opportunities to show why I think I should be playing and to give the manager a headache. Most players should have that mentality."

The 24-year-old signed a new contract last year which extended his stay at the club until June 2027.

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Mikel Arteta hopes increased firepower in attack will help Arsenal this season

Mikel Arteta is spoilt for options in attack this pre-season. Arsenal strengthened their frontline by signing Leandro Trossard from Brighton & Hove Albion in January.

This summer, they splurged £65 million to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Folarin Balogun has also returned from his loan spell at Stade de Reims, where he scored 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games.

Arsenal showed their potency in their 5-0 friendly win against MLS All-Stars on 20 July. Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Trossard and Eddie Nketiah all started in attack.

Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Balogun came on from the bench later in the game. Asked if Arsenal's attacking options will help the club next season, Arteta told the club's official website after the win:

"I hope so. We have to start doing the right things in preseason to get the best possible preparation and get that chemistry and cohesion in the team. And then we go step by step. It’s a tremendous league, it’s so competitive. Let’s see how we start and we will go from there."

Jesus, Trossard, Jorginho, Martinelli and Havertz all got on the scoresheet at Audi Field in Washington.