LONDON – Young striker Eddie Nketiah will wear Arsenal’s iconic number 14 shirt next season after signing a long-term contract, the English Premier League club said.
The 23-year-old joined Arsenal as a teenager and has made 92 first-team appearances, scoring 23 goals.
It was only last season, however, that Nketiah began to make a place in Arsenal’s attack his own, scoring five goals in his last eight Premier League appearances.
The contract is a reward for his form and handing him the 14 shirt, the number worn by club great Thierry Henry, shows the faith manager Mikel Arteta has in him.
Theo Walcott and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also wore 14.
“I’m delighted Eddie is staying with us. He represents what we are all about and all the values of the club,” Arteta said according to Reuters.
“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.”
Nketiah, who has moved up the pecking order at Arsenal following the departures of experienced strikers Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, will hope he can follow team mates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe into the England side.
He has yet to earn a senior cap but is England’s Under-21s all-time top scorer with 16 goals in 17 appearances.
Elsewhere, Southampton announced the signing of goalkeepers Gavin Bazunu from Manchester City and free agent Mateusz Lis on five-year contracts.
Irish international Bazunu will cost a reported £12 million ($14.5 million), AFP reported.
The 20-year-old joined the Premier League champions as a 16-year-old from Shamrock Rovers before spending loan spells at Rochdale and Portsmouth.
The arrival of both ‘keepers follows the announcement of the departure of Southampton’s former England goalkeeper Fraser Forster, 34, who is joining Tottenham after his contract expires at the end of June.
“We believe he has tremendous potential to improve and will give us great competition for places in the goalkeeping department,” said manager Ralph Hasenhuettl on Bazunu.
“He is a goalkeeper with a very modern style of play, comfortable in the build-up phase, who has developed physically through some very important loan moves early in his career,” he added.
Bazunu has starred in 10 international appearances, notably saving a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in a World Cup qualifier last year.
And he is excited to take the step up to regular Premier League football.
“The biggest thing is opportunity – the fact that I can come here and have a chance to play regular football,” he said.
“Just to be given that opportunity to fight for my place is the biggest thing that I could’ve asked for.”
