Arsenal goalscorer Eddie Nketiah on his loan spell with Leeds United and 'demanding' Marcelo Bielsa

The Gunners forward, who scored in yesterday's 3-2 win at home to Everton, spent the first half of the season on loan at Elland Road.

He struggled to displace Patrick Bamford in the Leeds lone striker role and his lack of minutes became a major talking point in Bielsa's press conferences.

The Argentine, who was always complimentary of Nketiah's skill set and regularly tipped the 20-year-old to go on and become one of the country's most important strikers, preferred Bamford due to his overall contribution to the team and the unselfish running he does as part of Leeds' high press.

Arsenal eventually recalled Nketiah from loan and he departed on New Year's Day after United's 1-1 draw at West Brom, having scored five goals in 753 minutes of first team action.

Bielsa has since addressed the Gunners' decision on a number of occasions, revealing his confusion that Nketiah was not allowed to continue developing at Leeds, where he was given no promises over a starting place. The Whites head coach went as far as to dub everything around the transfer move as 'a lie.'Nketiah, who has broken into the Arsenal first team and started their last two games - wins over Newcastle United and the Toffees - admits he would have liked to have featured more for Leeds during his loan stint, but still deems it a worthwhile experience.

“My Leeds experience was good for me, I learned as a player,” he said.

“I might not have played as much as I want but I had good moments when I was there when I came on and played. It’s just about learning and developing.

“It started really well, obviously I came on and if you check my minutes to goal ratio it’s quite good but obviously it’s just how things are."

When it comes to Bielsa, Nketiah credits the 'demanding' head coach for helping him to grow as a player.

“Sometimes the manager makes his decision and you have to deal with it," he said.

"It’s about learning from that environment. It’s a very good environment to be in, he (Marcelo Bielsa) is a very demanding coach and I learned a lot.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says the England Under 21 striker's finishing prowess is what made up his mind to keep Nketiah for the second half of the season, instead of loaning him out to any of the clubs, Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday included, who expressed a keen interest.

"He’s a very talented player to find goals in goalscoring situations and I trust him, that’s why I decided to keep him," he said.