Mikel Arteta was delighted by Eddie Nketiah making a promising start to his spell deputising for the injured Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over West Ham.
Gunners legend Paul Merson said he will be ‘shocked’ if Arsenal can cope without Jesus as they look to continue their title challenge.
And the hosts fell behind in the first half as Said Benrahma scored from the spot after William Saliba brought down Jarrod Bowen just inside the area.
But the Gunners regrouped and Bukayo Saka struck the equaliser eight minutes after the restart before Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal ahead.
Nketiah’s goal in the 69th minute ensured the Gunners secured all three points and equalled their longest-ever Premier League home winning streak with their 10th straight victory at the Emirates.
‘I just give him a big hug because he totally deserved it the way he played. It was a very Eddie Nketiah goal and an outstanding performance by him,’ Arteta told Amazon Prime.
‘You could feel the last few games he has been trying but he didn’t score. He didn’t score in the friendlies but that will give him confidence.
‘He showed at the end of last year when he played more consistently and when you look at his numbers, they are really, really good so really pleased with what he’s done today.’
The Arsenal boss also played down talk that his Premier League leaders are creating a fear factor after establishing a seven-point gap at the top.
Arteta added: ‘We cannot control what opponents feel. We can control how we play, what we transmit. You can see that with the way the fans are. If we get that fear factor, it is a big bonus obviously.
‘So far to go. We can only focus on what we can do. What the other teams will do, we have no idea.’
