Eddie Nketiah has revealed that Arsenal boss Unai Emery wanted him to stay at the Emirates Stadium this season.
The 20-year-old impressed for the Gunners during pre-season before completing a loan move to Championship outfit Leeds United.
Nketiah has already scored three times in five appearances for the Whites, while he netted twice for England's Under-21 side against Turkey Under-21s on Friday night.
The youngster has said that Emery had wanted him to stay with the Premier League club for the 2019-20 campaign but he wanted to sample a year out on loan.
"The manager wanted me to stay so it's really confidence-boosting for me that he had me in his plans," the Daily Mail quotes Nketiah as saying.
"But I felt like it was a good step for me to come to Leeds. I hope it's a good year that can leave me in good stead going back to Arsenal to fight for a place. There were a lot of options, there were options for me to go to Germany but me, my family and the club decided Leeds was the best place."
Nketiah scored once in nine appearances for Arsenal during the 2018-19 campaign.
Matt Law
