This means that good players will not take the field at all, some will not even end up in the matchday squad. Even when Declan Rice lost to Brighton, Ethan Nwaneri didn’t make the bench and Eberechi Eze was an unused substitute. Eze has now not appeared in the Premier League since being substituted in the 57th minute at home to Wolves on December 13.
Is this something that should worry us? Should we as fans even consider the feelings of individual players while the team is winning? In Eze’s case, I think it’s certainly true that his inability to track Matty Cash for his first-half goal at Villa Park early last month worked against him.
We haven’t seen much of Eze on the left side yet, mainly because Martin Odegaard has been injured a few times this season. Eze started on the left wing at Villa Park and after Cash raced past him two or three times, Arteta made a substitution at half-time and he has not played there since.
The move to Arsenal was of course an adjustment for Eze. Not only tactically, but also in the sense that we are no longer the attacking sun around which the team revolves. At Palace he had a very free role as a leading player. His adjustment is reminiscent of the same one Jack Grealish had to undergo when he moved from Aston Villa to Manchester City and had to adapt to playing in a team where the game plan was no longer, ‘give it to Grealish.’
The main barrier for Eze during this short period of ‘exile’ (if you want to call it that) is depth. Martin Odegaard has returned to the team and has spun on purpose. On the left wing, Leandro Trossard has been one of Arsenal’s best and most consistent players so far this season. I actually suspect that if Arsenal had stocked up on attacking players like Gyokeres, Madueke and Eze this summer, they would probably have been open to a good offer for Martinelli.
One of the reasons Trossard is so difficult to push out of the team is not only his very consistent performance, but also that he is a jack of all trades. He’s skilled without really being a Madueke-style one-on-one trader. He’s fast without being Martinelli-fast. And he can match Eze when it comes to putting the ball in the onion pocket.
Arsenal have some pretty specific profiles in their forwards, but Trossard is a safe bet because he does a little bit of everything. I think there have been some game states that haven’t really been in favor of introducing Eze from the bench lately. At Everton, Arsenal had a one-goal lead and Martinelli and Jesus’ half-time pace was preferred. When exactly the same scenario played out at home against Brighton a few days later, we saw the same players introduced from the bench.
Madueke and Eze were both unused in those games and I suspect this is because these are ‘broken play’ players who specialize in taking risks and with a one goal lead, Jesus’ technical certainty and Martinelli’s pace at the back were a better match. At Everton, Arsenal’s game plan was to retain the ball, keep it away from Everton and not allow any transitions.
They had 65% possession on Merseyside, the highest possession for an away game this season (barring Port Vale in the League Cup). For that kind of game plan, Martin Odegaard’s safety on the ball will always be favored. Against Aston Villa I think the number of changes enforced worked in Eze’s favour.
Timber and Gabriel couldn’t make it all the way and Mikel Merino had to be taken off the field as he was lucky not to be sent off. Plus, Martin Odegaard was nothing short of sensational and I suspect Arteta simply didn’t want to take him off. Had Arsenal chased any of the above matches, I suspect Eze would have been pretty much the first striker needed.
I think one of my concerns about the Arsenal attack is the huge differences in player profiles. On the one hand, diversity is strength and all that. On the other hand, I think such an approach compromises your balance. For example, if Odegaard were to take another blow and Eze were to play in midfield again, you suddenly have a completely different player with completely different demands.
I also think there is a risk of players falling into specific boxes and not developing. I look at someone like Leo Trossard and how his overall game has developed during his time at the club. At the same time, I fully accept the backlash that Arsenal are trying to win the biggest trophies, rather than becoming an elite player development academy.
There is a good challenge for Eze to improve his game away from possession. I think the willingness is certainly there, but his defensive instincts are not natural. It will take work because Arteta’s Arsenal are a starless team in that regard, even Bukayo Saka needs to roll up his sleeves and get off the ball.
The challenge for all of Arsenal’s new attackers – Eze, Madueke and Gyokeres – is not to be typecast into specific scenarios. Your best players are trusted in almost all circumstances. Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard: none of these players are considered unsuitable for certain game conditions and scenarios. They are always trusted under all circumstances and that is the challenge for Eze and others.
#Eze #Eze