Until Tuesday evening, Eberechi Eze’s short Arsenal career had been most notable for him scoring five goals in two games against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the club he almost joined last summer.
Often consigned to the bench, the £60m (about R1.33bn) signing from Crystal Palace has given fleeting glimpses of his talent, but as spring arrives he is blossoming.
The England attacking midfielder demonstrated why Arsenal signed him on Tuesday, scoring a sublime opening goal in a 2-0 Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen that sent Mikel Arteta’s side into the quarterfinals.
Receiving a pass from Leandro Trossard outside the penalty area, Eze’s first touch set the ball up, and after turning sweetly, he lashed a right-footed shot into the roof of the net that visiting keeper Janis Blaswich barely saw.
> We needed a magical moment from Ebs, a wonderful strike to give us the lead. He is playing every three days, he has rhythm, has an understanding with the players, and this \[goal\] is why he is here.
>
> — Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Each replay was met with oohs and aahs from the Emirates Stadium crowd, and even his teammates looked stunned at the ferocity of Eze’s thunderbolt.
“He’s got one of the best shots I’ve seen, left foot and right foot,” Arsenal’s other goalscorer Declan Rice said.
“We need to keep getting him in those areas, because honestly, he’s frightening. There are not many players I’ve seen that hit the ball better than him.”
Apart from his five against Tottenham and one against his former club Crystal Palace, Eze’s only other goals so far this season were against lower-league Port Vale and Mansfield Town in the League Cup and FA Cup, respectively.
But the 27-year-old is now becoming an integral part of Arsenal’s attacking unit at just the right time as they close in on silverware in four competitions.
“We needed a magical moment from Ebs, a wonderful strike to give us the lead,” Arteta said. “He is playing every three days, he has rhythm, has an understanding with the players, and this \[goal\] is why he is here.
“I think he’s building better chemistry, a better understanding, with all of them. We start to understand him much better as well. When you start to make a good game, a good action, an action like that when you’re in the game, it lifts your confidence as well. That’s what every player needs.”
Arsenal face Manchester City in Sunday’s League Cup final as they seek their first silverware since 2020, and Eze will hope he can have the same impact as in his first Wembley final.
Last May, his sumptuous goal against Man City in the FA Cup final earned Palace their first major trophy. — Martyn Herman