It was a night full of smiles for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal in the end. But up until the 70-minute mark, it looked like a night to forget. The Gunners huffed and puffed for the majority of the contest, but their attacking endeavours were blocked by a Basque brick wall.
It was no surprise that two substitutes were needed to change the game as far as Arsenal were concerned, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli combining to break the deadlock. Martinelli latched onto a searching Trossard pass, with the winger bursting through on goal and sliding a tidy effort underneath Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Fast forward 15 minutes, and this time it was Martinelli picking out Trossard in the box, with the Belgian’s deflected shot finding the back of the net. A delightful display of Arsenal’s squad depth, but perhaps also an early worry for one of their latest arrivals?
Eberechi Eze was the man sacrificed for Martinelli on the 70-minute mark, with the England international having struggled for the majority of the match. It’s the second consecutive outing Eze has had at left-wing, having started Arsenal’s weekend win over Nottingham Forest on that flank.
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But it’s also the second match Eze has flattered to deceive, playing in a role that doesn’t suit the usually electric attacking talent. Granted, he did pick up an assist against Forest, but for the rest of his time on the pitch in that match, as well as Tuesday’s display, he spent more time running into problems than causing trouble.
What if Arsenal’s newfound squad depth actually ends up harming Eze instead? Where previously Arsenal forwards have been jostling for places with one or two other players, the likes of Trossard, Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka are all capable of taking minutes off each other.
At £67.5million, Eze is unlikely to be frozen out of the squad altogether by Arteta, and the 27-year-old certainly has time on his side. But questions about his suitability to play on the left-hand side are already being asked.
The alternative would be Eze playing centrally, but that would require something even more unlikely to happen: Arteta implementing a system change. Martin Odegaard is the Gunners’ first-choice attacking midfielder when fit, and the Norway international is a little more industrious than Eze and certainly offers more off the ball.
It’s hard to see Arteta deploying such a care-free midfielder in Eze for Arsenal’s biggest matches of the season, should Odegaard be absent for the clash. It’s early days and the panic button certainly isn’t being pushed yet. But, it definitely feels like something will have to budge between Eze, Arteta and Arsenal.