'He did everything' - Troy Deeney singles out Arsenal star for praise after West Ham win

Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney singled out ‘excellent’ Eddie Nketiah for praise after Arsenal beat West Ham to move back into the Champions League places.

Arsenal saw north London rivals Tottenham move into the top-four with a 3-1 victory over Leicester City on Sunday, but Mikel Arteta’s side won their game in hand against West Ham later in the day to regain the position.

The Gunners were not at their fluent best in east London and West Ham – with one eye on Thursday’s trip to Europa League rivals Eintracht Frankfurt – equalised on the stroke of half-time after Rob Holding’s opener.

But fellow Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes headed home the winner early into the second half to maintain the club’s Champions League push.

While he did not score, Nketiah was a lively figure up top for Arsenal and Deeney was impressed and even taken aback by the 22-year-old’s performance.

‘I thought he was excellent, he did everything,’ Watford hero Deeney told BBC’s Match of the Day 2.

‘A lot of the chances created were from his own doing. It was only his fourth [league] start [of the season] so to see that level of confidence was great.

‘The best compliment you can give him is that he kept Alexandre Lacazette on the bench, that didn’t look to him at any point.

‘He really got at West Ham and used intelligent runs. On another day he scores. He really grew in the game and showed a level of maturity I didn’t know he had at this moment in time.’

Nketiah, who made his Arsenal debut under Arsene Wenger in 2017, is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with a move away from the Emirates due to his limited game-time.

Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Arteta was full of praise for his side after they ‘won ugly’ against West