Nketiah is sure Leeds spell got him ready
Eddie Nketiah believes his tough loan spell with Leeds helped him prepare for the battle to become Mikel Arteta's first-choice striker at Arsenal.
The 20-year-old scored his first Premier League goal of the season in Sunday's 3-2 victory over Everton.
Nketiah has started the last two league games under Arteta, who dropped France international Alexandre Lacazette to accommodate the academy product.
After a few false dawns, including a goal just seconds into his senior debut, a lack of game time under Unai Emery and a failed stint at Leeds, Nketiah already has enough experiences to use as positives now he is in the Arsenal side.
"My Leeds experience was good for me, I learned as a player," he said.
"I might not have played as much as I wanted, but I had good moments when I was there when I came on and played. It's just about learning and developing.
"It's a very good environment to be in, he (Marcelo Bielsa) is a very demanding coach and I learned a lot."
The England Under-21 international started just two Championship games during his spell at Elland Road.
Arsenal recalled Nketiah in January, initially with the idea of loaning him out to another second-tier club.
A move to Bristol City was reportedly close before new boss Arteta opted to keep him at the Emirates Stadium having been impressed with his displays in training.
"He was a bit 50:50 on letting me go anyway and I was 50:50 as well," added Nketiah. "Obviously I just trained well and played my usual game, I try to give my all in training and treat it as a game. He likes this mentality and obviously the quality I have, I try to showcase that. It's just about working hard."