Eddie Nketiah believes his “friendly competition” with Arsenal team-mate Gabriel Jesus has made him a better player after receiving his first England call-up.
Since Jesus joined the Gunners from Manchester City in a £45 million deal last summer, Nketiah has had to wait for his opportunities to lead Arsenal’s attack.
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He proved himself a worthy understudy last season when filling in for more than three months after Jesus suffered a serious knee injury playing for Brazil at the Qatar World Cup and started this season in promising style, netting against Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
England boss Gareth Southgate rewarded Nketiah with a place in his 26-man squad for upcoming matches away to Ukraine and Scotland, ahead of which the 24-year-old addressed his relationship with Jesus at St George’s Park on Tuesday.
“He is a fantastic player and a great guy off the pitch,” Nketiah said of Jesus. “We get on really well. It’s nice to be competing with someone of that standard.
“It’s only going to do things for me and we both know we want to do the same thing, which is help the team, contribute and score goals. Naturally we push each other in training, we push each other in games.
“It’s healthy and friendly competition. We know that sometimes we’re going to play together, sometimes I might play, sometimes he might play. We have that good relationship where we always support each other. We all want the same thing which is to help Arsenal. I’m sure hopefully it will be a great season for both of us.”
Nketiah also revealed he plans to seek advice from Harry Kane — and admitted that task is less complicated after the England captain left north London rivals Tottenham for Bayern Munich in the summer.
“He is a world class striker,” added Nketiah. “Today was my first session so I’m sure I’ll be in his ear all week — getting tips and learning, I think that’s another great opportunity to come away, learn and improve yourself and see what other top strikers do, how they prepare for games.
“I think it makes the conversation a little bit easier, obviously, now that he has made the move over but he’s a fantastic player, and I wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
