Wantaway Eddie Nketiah reiterated he just wants the chance to play after the Arsenal striker bagged a hat-trick in the Carabao Cup demolition of Sunderland.

The 22-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of the season and he will be free to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club in January.

The England Under-21 striker wants more playing time and reportedly rejected a new contract offer earlier this month.

After scoring a treble in the 5-1 victory against Sunderland on Tuesday night, he told Sky Sports: ‘I’m desperate to play football, every player wants to play. All I can do is keep working hard. It will sort itself out, hopefully I get opportunities.

‘I’m eager to play football, I’m here under contract and as long as I play for Arsenal I will give it my all. If the manager needs me I will be ready to help the team.

‘This competition is where I have been getting starts, whenever I’m asked to play I will do my best and help the team. I’m ready when the manager needs me.’

Arsenal boss Arteta insisted he wants Nketiah to stay at the Gunners.

‘I have been very consistent with what I think of Eddie, how much we like him and his contribution to the team every time he plays has been top,’ Arteta told Sky Sports.

‘The only thing is he wants more minutes. That’s his desire. I really want him to stay here and that is what we are trying to do. Eddie is a really important part of the squad.’

Nketiah thanked his team-mates after scoring his first senior hat-trick.

‘It’s a great feeling. I want to say a big thank you to my team-mates. Had some really good assists today, I just had to be in the right place.

‘It’s good to get my first hat-trick for Arsenal in the senior team. It’s nice, that interaction. You can’t beat it, having fans in the stadium.

‘Happy to get through to the next round. To get a few goals was nice. We all started a bit sloppy, but then we got the goal. We could have played a lot better in the first half. We buckled up and improved in the second half.’