Mikel Arteta says he must ‘be blind’ not to play Eddie Nketiah after his performance in training, which saw the striker come on for Arsenal’s opener in win against Nottingham Forest

Mikel Arteta felt Eddie Nketiah’s performance in training warned that he ‘must be blind’ not to play at center forward as he opened the scoring in Saturday’s victory over Nottingham Forest.

Nketiah’s attack, supported by Gabriel Martinelli’s Cruyff turn, followed the dropped striker for the Gunners’ Community Shield victory against Manchester City. That was despite Gabriel Jesus’ injury.

But Arteta continued to rave about the ‘role model’ player, who increased his Emirates Cup goal against Monaco.

“I’m very happy for him because he’s a role model,” Arteta said.

“He was a player who was so disappointed that he didn’t play the final in the absence of Gabi (Jesus).

The striker scored Arsenal’s opening game in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest

“What he did was he came on the field in the final and it changed the game. That’s number one. The second was the way he trained this week, he said, “Gaffer, if you don’t play against me, you’re blind”.

“A lot of players come and say ‘Oh why don’t I play’ and you have to try to explain it. Other players come and say, “These are the reasons why I deserve to play”.

“This is exactly what Eddie does. This is exactly what he did and then he came on the field and he performs that way. He is a clear and very good example for everyone.’

A sour note for the Spaniard was an injury to Jurrien Timber, who needed help off the field and clung to his knee before the break.

He added: “The doctors looked at him (at half-time) and they were happy that he continued, so was he.

“Right into the first play of the second half he made a move and that was a bit funny. We took him out right away and now we have to judge him and see what he’s got.’

Arteta also spoke about Jurrien Timber’s injury, which saw him assist off the field