It's an excellent time to be an Arsenal fan at the moment.
Mikel Arteta's side are on a roll in the Premier League, are well and truly back in the title race and are set to play their first Champions League knockout game for seven years when they take on Porto tonight.
One of the players likely to make it into the starting XI will be Belgian international Leandro Trossard, who's been in fine form last month, with four goals in five games.
However, another attacker at the club didn't cost a penny, is now worth more than the 29-year-old and could be set for a profitable move in the summer.
Eddie Nketiah's academy record
The player in question is 24-year-old Eddie Nketiah, who joined Arsenal as a youth player after being released by cross-city rivals Chelsea at age 14.
The Lewisham-born striker later claimed that the experience of losing his place at Cobham gave him "that extra motivation and resilience when times are hard", which could explain how he has been able to fight for his place in the Gunners' squad.
In his 60 appearances for the various youth sides at Arsenal, the young poacher scored 46 goals and provided 11 assists, meaning he averaged 0.95 goal involvements per match for a considerable period.
Following this success, he was sent on loan to Championship side Leeds United in the 2019/20 season, although he only spent half a season in West Yorkshire and returned with five goals and one assist in 19 appearances.
Away from club football, the 5 foot 11 frontman was prolific for the England youth sides and is still the top goalscorer for the U21s, as he racked up 16 in 17 games.
Eddie Nketiah's market value
Nektiah's first team debut for Arsenal came back in September 2017, when Arsène Wenger brought him on for a minute of action against Bate Borisov in the UEFA Europa League, with his Premier League debut coming six months later, as the Frenchman gave him another short cameo, this time against Brighton & Hove Albion.
However, his first real stint with the senior squad came under Arteta in the 2019/20 season, when he made 17 appearances and picked up four goals.
The "monster" forward, as described by The Athletic's Aaron Catterson-Reid, has since gone on to play 162 games for the north Londoners, in which he has scored 38 goals and provided ten assists, which isn't too bad for a backup striker.
However, it's his new valuation that will really please the Arsenal board, as the CIES Football Observatory values him at around €50m or about £43m, which is £9m more than they value Trossard – who has ten goals to his name in all competitions this season.
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This price discrepancy is most likely due to the age difference between the pair, as at 29 years old, the Belgian has fewer years in the game remaining than the Englishman, even though he has been more effective in recent months.
It appears as if Stan Kroenke and Co are looking to cash in on this new valuation of Nketiah this year as well, as it was reported earlier this month that his exit this summer is a genuine possibility.
Arsenal played a blinder selling gem whose value has plummeted by £15m
The highly-rated youngster hasn’t had the best of seasons this year.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
Ultimately, the academy graduate has been a useful player for the club at times, but perhaps his greatest contribution to Arsenal could be a hefty payday when he moves on, which can hopefully allow him to reach his full potential as well.
