Eddie Nketiah reveals first reaction to England call-up
Eddie Nketiah reveals he went ‘numb’ after receiving his first senior England call-up… after previously heading for Arsenal exit and being courted by Ghana
- Eddie Nketiah received his first senior England call-up by Gareth Southgate
- The striker had been on the verge of leaving Arsenal, and was courted by Ghana
- Nketiah and Arsenal look forward to a heavyweight clash with Man United
Eddie Nketiah says he froze with emotion when he heard that he had been called up for Gareth Southgate’s England squad last week, a landmark moment after he appeared to be on the fringes of Arsenal at times in recent years, was on the verge of leaving last season and was courted by Ghana to play for their national team.
With two goals in two starts this season, Nketiah has been rewarded with his promotion after forcing his way into contention at Arsenal and said: ‘It was quite an emotional moment, to be fair.
‘I’m not really one to get too emotional but part of my body just went numb. It was so nice to get that call and text and to see it announced officially.
‘My family are all proud of me, my dad, my mum, my two sisters. They’ve been so supportive of me, taking me to every game and training session. My dad travelled for my first England under-19s game all the way to Qatar.
‘He’s been around and it’s nice to give something back, to have a day like this when he can be proud and the whole family can be proud.
Eddie Nketiah received his first senior England call-up by Gareth Southgate earlier this week
Nketiah turned his Arsenal career around and has previously been courted by Ghana
Gareth Southgate could hand him his first senior cap against Ukraine or Scotland
‘I was with all of my family and a few friends were at the house as well. It’s one that you can look back on and cherish because it’s been a long journey here, a few ups and downs. It’s nice to have something to show for it and celebrate. It’s amazing, having come through the ranks as an academy boy and the youth groups with England. It’s a nice feeling to have that natural progression to go the seniors.
‘It’s the pinnacle of recognition for a player that represents England. I’m really happy to be there and really looking forward to meeting up with the boys.’
Nketiah may well be back in the starting line-up for Arsenal against Manchester United today, though he now has to battle with fit-again Gabriel Jesus for his place and he says that even in training this week, the two points dropped at home to Fulham last weekend has served as motivation.
‘It’s already started for us in training, we’ve been pushing since the last game and having that competitiveness in training.
‘We dropped a couple of points in the last game and we want to make up for that and get the three points for the fans this weekend. Everyone is focused on that. Obviously we have internationals after but we’re all focused on the game on Sunday and making sure we put in a performance.’
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