Defoe ‘loves’ Arsenal forward who’s reaping rewards of his pre-season advice after message
Jermain Defoe has revealed Arsenal man Eddie Nketiah messaged him in pre-season for advice, and the former Tottenham striker “liked that” he was asking for help and “loves” the forward.
Defoe spent more time at Spurs than he did any other club during his career. The striker made 361 appearances for the north London side, scoring 140 times.
Since his retirement from football, he’s moved into a coaching role, and is currently working with Tottenham’s youth players. As such, the striker felt it was a surprise when he received a message from Arsenal forward Nketiah ahead of the campaign, given the rivalry between the clubs.
“He actually messaged me on Instagram in pre-season,” Defoe told Premier League Productions.
“I thought it was a joke – Arsenal and Tottenham.
“He wanted to speak about finishing and movement, all that sort of stuff.”
Defoe admired that the Gunners man had come to him for advice, as he wants to learn from a player that’s similar to himself, and he feels Nketiah is a talented striker.
“I thought, you know what, I like that because that’s a young centre forward that wants to try and get as much from other players that have played the game in that position as he can. Someone who wants to learn.
“He is a good finisher. When he gets chances, I believe he will score.
“I love him. What a player. I think all the stuff you want your centre-forwards to do, he does. He always gets into those areas where he is going to score.”
Whether or not Defoe’s advice has anything to do with it, Nketiah is in good form at the moment. He’s leading the line at Arsenal in Gabriel Jesus’ absence, and has scored five goals in 10 Premier League games this season.
That includes a first-ever hat-trick in his last game against Sheffield United, when the Gunners won 5-0.
He’ll hope for a continuation of that form throughout the season so that he can keep his place as the side’s central attacker when Jesus is available.
READ MORE: Premier League stats: Maddison leads playmaking stats, Palhinha most tackles, Dunk most touches
