Mikel Arteta struggled to hide his feelings towards Eberechi Eze's most recent Arsenal display
Eberechi Eze of Arsenal looks dejected after the Chelsea first goal, an own goal by Piero Hincapie of Arsenal, during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on March 01, 2026 in London, England.
Eberechi Eze had an underwhelming showing against Chelsea(Image: Getty Images)
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Mikel Arteta was left frustrated with Eberechi Eze after he struggled to build on his north London derby form during an underwhelming display against Chelsea. The Arsenal midfielder scored twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, just three months after his memorable hat-trick in the reverse encounter at the Emirates Stadium.
Many hoped Eze, who completed a dream £67.5million move to his boyhood club from Crystal Palace last summer, would kick on in the final stretch of the season after finding his spark the previous week against Spurs.
Five of Eze's six league goals this campaign have come in the north London derby, with the England international enduring long spells without a goal or an assist. Still, Arteta trusted the playmaker following the Spurs match by keeping him in the starting line-up for the home fixture with Chelsea on Sunday, an opportunity Eze has not often been afforded this campaign.
However, he failed to reward Arteta's faith in him against the Blues, finding it difficult to impose himself in a showing more reminiscent of his other performances this campaign than his exploits against Tottenham. Despite playing the full 90 minutes, Eze's standout moment was in the opening period when he attempted to chip the Chelsea keeper from the halfway line.
His decision-making left plenty to be desired and he was unusually sloppy on the ball in the final third, wasting attacks which could have ensured a more comfortable victory than the 2-1 win Arteta’s men managed to scrape.
Arteta appeared visibly frustrated with him on several occasions due to his poor touches, with the Spaniard citing an agitated figure on the touchline. Eze's recent display follows pundit Wayne Rooney demanding greater consistency from him after the win against Spurs.
The Manchester United icon had called out Eze by claiming he should have made himself "impossible to drop" in Arteta's eyes with his performances this campaign. And Rooney is unlikely to have been satisfied at the weekend.
Rooney said previously: "I don’t think he’s been good enough this season. The two Tottenham games have shined a big light on him but in other games I’ve watched him and not thought he’s been good enough.
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, interacts with Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD2 match between Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC at Arsenal Stadium on October 01, 2025 in London, England.
Eze was frustrating on the ball on Sunday(Image: Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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"I think a lot of that is probably through not playing consistently, I get that, but when you talk about mentality and character, if I was him I would be trying to make it very difficult for the manager to leave me out, both with your performances and in training. Clearly he’s not doing enough to warrant a place in the team consistently.
"I get that Martin Odegaard is the captain but you’ve got to make it almost impossible for Mikel Arteta to leave you out. After the first Tottenham game I don’t think he did enough to stay in the team so you just hope now for him he plays better consistently to stay in the game. I think he needs to perform a little bit better than he has so far this season."
Rooney continued: "I think Eze is better in the penalty box but Martin Odegaard is better when he’s a bit deeper. He’s very clever and picks up some great positions, his movement is very good, you just want to see a bit more from him in the final third. If you could combine the two of them you’d have a great player!"
To Eze’s credit, his pressing against Chelsea was significantly better compared to earlier in the season and there was no doubting his work-rate on the day. Whether Arteta will persist with him over captain Martin Odegaard as his primary creative force for the rest of the campaign is yet to be seen.