appears to have taken a swipe at fans who greeted confirmation of Eddie Nketiah’s contract renewal with negative reactions.
The 22-year-old has committed his long-term future to his boyhood club having, at one stage, appeared certain to leave as a free agent.
Nketiah struggled to gain first team opportunities last season, even after the departure of in January.
After contracted Covid, Mikel Arteta was given no option but to rely on Nketiah and England’s record goalscorer at Under-21 level grasped the opportunity with both hands.
Nketiah nearly joined Crystal Palace last summer and had been interesting the likes of West Ham and Brighton, but has now completed a remarkable transformation by signing a lucrative contract and inheriting the club’s iconic No.14 shirt.
The reaction to the Nketiah announcement was far from euphoric, however, with many fans impatiently waiting for news relating to the club’s pursuit of Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus.
Responding to the negativity on Twitter almost immediately after news broke, Gabriel wrote ‘How can you be so ungrateful OMG,’ before liking a tweet which read ‘Don’t be fooled by the loud haters. Plenty of us are happy with the contract extension and don’t mind the shirt number.’
Arteta, meanwhile, is thrilled to have retained the services of a striker who led the line with distinction towards the end of last season, particularly in victories over Manchester United, Chelsea and Leeds.
‘I’m delighted Eddie is staying with us,’ said Arteta. ‘He represents what we are all about and all the values of the club.
‘We are very happy that he has extended his contract and now we have to get to work and continue to develop the great talent and person that we have in him.’
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