In the bidding war staged by Arsenal in August, a key aspect of Bristol City’s pitch for Eddie Nketiah was the promise that the young forward would play. Leeds United had the profile and Fortuna Dusseldorf were offering Bundesliga football but manager Lee Johnson felt, and still feels, that Bristol City’s guarantee of matches was as cast-iron as Arsenal would get.



The final choice between those three clubs was left to Nketiah and the England Under-21 international chose Leeds but it is telling that Johnson has not abandoned his summer target completely. The Athletic understands that Bristol City are continuing to monitor Nketiah with a view to making another approach if the striker’s loan at Leeds is cut short in January. Scrutiny of Nketiah’s game time is not confined to Elland Road.



Arsenal, as his parent club, have a greater vested interest. While sources close to the London club say they are relaxed about Nketiah’s situation, they did...