Eddie Nketiah is a product of the Arsenal academy and made his first-team debut in September 2017, so here is everything you need to know about the England striker.
The forward recorded his senior breakthrough away to BATE Borisov in a 4-2 Europa League win under Arsene Wenger on September 28, 2017. Nketiah would also score his first goal for Arsenal on October 22, 2017 to help claim a 2-1 win at home to Norwich City in the EFL Cup.
Nketiah first joined the Arsenal ranks at the age of 14 following a spell in the academy set-up of London rivals Chelsea. He produced a prolific record for the Gunners’ youth sides with 39 goals in 39 Under-18 outings. The attacker added another 27 goals for Arsenal’s Under-23s.
Goals also flowed at the Under-21 level for England as Nketiah scored 16 in 17 caps to break Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers’ long-standing top scorer record. Gareth Southgate gave Nketiah his senior England debut in a friendly at Wembley against Australia in October 2023.
Nketiah also took over Arsenal’s coveted No14 jersey in June 2022 after signing a new long-term contract. He wanted to adopt the number as ‘Thierry Henry made it cool to wear this shirt’ en route to becoming an Arsenal legend. But who is Nketiah really outside of football?
How old is Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah?
At the time of writing, Arsenal ace Eddie Nketiah is 24 years old. He was born on May 30 in 1999 and is the youngest of three siblings. The striker has two sisters, called Shaundel and Mirayde. His siblings have supported the Hale Ender throughout his career since his youth.
Where was Eddie Nketiah Rowe born?
Arsenal product Eddie Nketiah was born in Lewisham, London. But he has Ghanaian parents, Elizabeth Asaam and Edward Nketiah, through whom Nketiah could have played for Ghana.
How tall is Eddie Nketiah? What is his height in feet?
Eddie Nketiah measures in at 1.75 metres tall, or standing at a height of 5 ft 8 in feet.
Eddie Nketiah can still represent Ghana
Eddie Nketiah is of Ghanaian descent through parents, mum Elizabeth and dad Edward, but has chosen to represent England at all age levels so far. But the striker is still eligible to play for Ghana having only featured for the Three Lions at the senior level in one friendly to date.
A future call-up for a competitive international fixture would see Nketiah commit his future to England or Ghana. FIFA rules allow players to change allegiances as long as they have not played in more than three competitive fixtures and were under 21 when they last appeared.
Choosing England was the ‘natural’ choice for Nketiah, though, when Gareth Southgate first included the Arsenal product in a senior squad. Ghana had sought to convince the striker to represent the Black Stars, with Chris Hughton even contacting Nketiah whilst their manager.
“It has been quite the journey to get here – a lot of ups and downs,” Nketiah said, via quotes by Reuters, in September 2023. “Once the call-up was there – an offer was on the table – it was really hard to turn down and something which I felt was a natural progression for myself at this stage.”
Eddie Nketiah rapping, is he DIDE?
Eddie Nketiah is one of the many footballers alongside Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka to be tipped as the anonymous Grime artist, DIDE, who claimed to be a Premier League player. He debuted with the single ‘Thrill’, which was set in London with hints of being from the capital.
But while the video gave glues to suggest Nketiah is the masked rapper, DIDE spoke to Sky News in October 2023 and claimed that Luton Town offer the worst away dressing room. But Arsenal were yet to visit Kenilworth Road that term and Nketiah had never yet played Luton.