Arsenal legend Ian Wright has defended new Gunners no.14 on Instagram following backlash.
Eddie Nketiah received the honour of all honours upon signing his new contract yesterday, the prestigious number 14 shirt, immortalised by Thierry Henry. The 23-year-old has seen his development take on a meteoric rise in recent months, and that development earned him a new contract taking him through until 2027.
Arsenal announced the contract extension with an emotional video edit, depicting the youngster’s journey from being a 14-year-old at the club, to attaining the famous number nearly a decade on.
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Some fans felt that giving Nketiah the number was premature, however, others went beyond the realm of criticism and began hurling online abuse at the young man and Arsenal legend Ian Wright was rightly having absolutely none of it.
Responding to an Instagram comment abusing the new Gunners’ no.14, the club icon said:
“What’s a number? Why don’t you say nothing if you have nothing positive to say to our players? You can never call yourself an Arsenal fan with negativity of this nature? Would you say it to Eddie’s face?”
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Wright is spot on and this is the most recent in an ever growing online epidemic of abuse, where the anonymity provided by social media allows abuse with no tangible repercussions. Arsenal centre-back Gabriel was similarly disgusted by the abuse directed towards Nketiah.
Responding to the abuse, the Brazilian wrote:
“How can you be so ungrateful!”
The good thing for Nketiah, club legends and teammates are in his corner, and the true Arsenal fans will similarly be in his camp, rooting for the 23-year-old to fulfil the potential he has shown, and add to the tally of goals notched up by Arsenal no.14’s since the turn of the century.
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Topics: Ian Wright, Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah