Eberechi Eze left Crystal Palace in the summer and he’s still settling in at Arsenal
Eberechi Eze will have added motivation as he finally looks to kickstart his Arsenal career against former club Crystal Palace. The England international remains in a state of integration in north London ahead of facing his old employers, who he led to FA Cup and Community Shield successes before completing his summer move.
The Gunners are still yet to see the absolute best from Eze, with the playmaker yet to vindicate the £67.5million the Gunners paid to sign the 27-year-old in August.
Interestingly, Mikel Arteta, quizzed about Eze’s performance against Fulham in the 1-0 win, admitted that the game has changed for him at Arsenal from when playing under Oliver Glasner.
He is afforded less space, with the Gunners far more dominant in possession and facing sides which, as Fulham did, drop deeper in low blocks.
“No,” Arteta agreed. “Because he’s more used to probably attacking open spaces and breaks and facing and carrying the ball with the space in front of him.
“He’s so good and comfortable doing that. I think he had his moments [against Fulham]. I think he played Viktor through once or twice in really good spaces, and maybe if that [had] finished in a goal, it would have looked a little bit different.
“But I’m very happy with what he’s doing, and we can use him in different positions, and today we used him on that one, and we carry on training him too.”
This is further reflected in some of the numbers which Eze has contributed so far. The data shows that Eze is producing 3.38 shot-creating actions per 90 for Arsenal this season in the opening six league matches compared to his 4.69 for Palace across the 34 matches last season.
His shots per 90 have dipped to from 3.47 to 2.93. Many might see this as a dip in performance but the reality is the contexts for both Crystal Palace and Arsenal are entirely different.
Eze clearly thrives in more space and is having to learn to adapt to this new level. Intriguingly, against Atletico Madrid, he contributed five shot-creating actions compared to just the one at Fulham.
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Granted, Arsenal were playing at home against the Spanish club, but more so, the greater openness of European competition compared to the Premier League, could mean Eze becomes an asset in the Champions League, whereas the return of Martin Odegaard in a few weeks will give Mikel Arteta a key more suited to the low block locks the Gunners face domestically.
Despite the injury to Kai Havertz providing the catalyst for Arsenal’s swift hijack of Tottenham Hotspur’s attempts to sign Eze, the absence of club captain Odegaard has proven to have had an even greater problem the former Palace talisman has now solved.
While Eze was without question the star man at Palace when he left, his star quality is now surrounded by other world class level talents. So much so Arteta has used Eze in several different roles already.
From left wing, to right eight and even more of a roaming number ten. Eze, despite still becoming accustomed to his new surroundings, has provided Arsenal with all-around quality and, crucially, a new dimension making the North London side a nightmare to deal with.
