Crystal Palace star mocked by Arsenal fans must not start against Aston Villa - opinion

Crystal Palace striker Eddie Nketiah was applauded off the field of play by Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night after another goalless showing from the striker.

It’s been a tough first season for the 25-year-old in south London, who made the £25 million move across the capital last year, with Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner recently admitting he felt ‘sad’ for how it has turned out for the talented forward. Nketiah led the line against his former club Arsenal last night with Glasner resting main man Jean-Phillipe Mateta ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.

Unfortunately for Nketiah, who was looking for his first Premier League goal since February having bagged twice in the FA Cup since then, the match got off to a torrid start. The striker was caught ball watching from an Arsenal corner, which allowed centre-back Jakub Kiwior a free header. The result? 1-0 to the Gunners after three minutes.

Crystal Palace star looks ‘overwhelmed’ on return to Arsenal

That moment was criminal from Nketiah. There are few teams on the continent who pose more of a threat than Arsenal from set plays and to be caught sleeping when defending one of those after just four minutes is just unfathomable.

Social media knew it too. On X, one Arsenal fan joked that “Nketiah still loves Arsenal, no way he let Kiwior go that way” while another added, “Nketiah working undercover for us”. After the moment, one user wrote: “Look at Nketiah. No commitment. Eww You’ll still have some top Gooners crying that he got sold though.”

Perhaps the occasion got to the player. Returning to his former club, having scored at the Emirates for the Eagles in December, Nketiah looked overwhelmed - but if he can’t handle a Wednesday night Premier League fixture, how is he going to cope with an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium?

Glasner must surely return Mateta to the starting XI to take on Aston Villa at Wembley. In contrast to Nketiah, whose last involvement before going off was to sigh having been bullied off the ball by William Saliba in front of his manager, Mateta looked ravenous.

The Frenchman immediately became the bully against Saliba, badgering him on the ball to pinch it off his toes and lob David Raya and level the scores at 2-2. Playing with such confidence, the whole of the stadium knew that shot was going in.

It was frustrating to see Nketiah blot his card so early against Arsenal because there was a lot of good that followed. He did win a good header from a set play shortly after his error and had both Saliba and Declan Rice sweating when trying to match his pace. Kiwior was also forced into some excellent defending as Nketiah held the ball with his back to goal.

Ultimately, those moments of promise came with little bite. An aerobatic 66th minute bicycle kick making contact with just the air summing up his night. It’s not for lack of trying, but Nketiah isn’t the man to lead the line again this weekend.

Oliver Glasner saddened by Eddie Nketiah debut season

Speaking about the player ahead of the Arsenal game, Glasner had said: “It’s not time to sum up Eddie’s season now, but he’s so hard-working. Sometimes I feel a little bit sad for him, personally, when I see all his effort.

“For example, Newcastle he comes on when we’re 5-0 down. It’s the worst situation you can have as a player. I had this once in my career and I didn’t really like it. He had two or three chances. At the end he could score and then he slipped. It looks like, sometimes, things don’t go well for him. But I spoke to him afterwards, because I see him every day working. And there will come a day when he gets paid for all his effort. For me personally, it feels like they didn’t come now until now.

“We still have some great games to play, and maybe this day when he gets the payback for all his effort will come soon. I expect both teams entering the pitch to want to win the game. We expect they will play with their strongest team; they have six days [in between Wednesday and] their Champions League semi-final. We will play with the best available team tomorrow as well.”

In other news, Ruben Amorim just ruined Crystal Palace swap deal for Man Utd in interview gaffe - opinion.