Eberechi Eze's return to Arsenal has not been smooth sailing.
Cast your mind back to last summer and you will remember the fanfare in which he arrived. After signing from Crystal Palace for a fee worth around £67m, he strode onto the Emirates Stadium pitch sporting an Arsenal shirt and blue jeans to a cacophony of noise.
New Arsenal signing Eberechi Eze is unveiled to the fans before the match
Yet, the noise that has surrounded Eze since that moment has not always been positive. Truth be told, the transfer fee is worth it alone for the five goals he has scored against relegation-threatened Spurs this season, particularly when he came so close to signing for them.
Yet, until recently, those derby day goals have been as good as it has got for the Englishman. Now, however, he is really starting to motor in Arsenal colours. He was unfortunate not to score last weekend against Manchester City when he struck the post.
However, with Mikel Arteta's team suffering from a lack of creativity, they could well look to address that problem in the summer.
How Arsenal can address their lack of creativity
While Eze has not proven to be much of a problem to Arteta in recent months, his club captain certainly is.
Martin Odegaard has struggled with injury for much of the last two seasons, so much so that he only scored three Premier League goals last term and has only found the net once in the league this time around.
Arsenal-Martin-Odegaard
To make matters worse, he has only delivered seven assists across 30 matches in all competitions. Much of the club's woes of late have been down to creativity, or the lack thereof.
Against Bournemouth, when they lost 2-1, they only generated an open play expected goals tally of 0.18. It isn't good enough.
As a result, the Gunners are rightly searching for a solution this summer. A number of wide forwards have already been linked but in the central areas, Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers is emerging as a target. A £100m player in the making, however, it's unlikely that one will get done.
Arsenal record signings Related
Arsenal's most expensive signings of all time
The Gunners have spent generously in recent years.
So, a cheaper alternative could be found and according to reports in Germany, Andrea Berta and Co have already started work in that regard. As per Fussballdaten, Arsenal are trying to sign Bayer Leverkusen youngster Ibrahim Maza.
Ibrahim Maza and Bukayo Saka
After the departure of Florian Wirtz to Liverpool last summer, this has been a breakthrough campaign for the 20-year-old who is now attracting the interest of Manchester City and Arsenal.
The report claims that the Premier League title rivals have both made initial bids worth in the region of £35m. Those offers have been rejected by Leverkusen.
Still, it is suggested that if either of those sides come back with a bid of £52m, it will likely be enough to prise the Algerian away from the Bundesliga.
So, what's all the fuss about then?
How Ibrahim Maza compares to Eberechi Eze
It feels like an absolute age since Arsenal have had a no.10 capable of conjuring up magic moments. Eze has come close to that and Odegaard once scored 15 goals in the 2022/23 campaign. Yet, since then, he has not hit the same levels.
You could argue that the north Londoners have never really replaced the creative genius of Mesut Ozil. Well, in the shape of Maza, they could sign their new version of the German.
Mesut-Ozil-Arsenal-Cancelo-Arteta
Mesut Ozil for Arsenal
Fussballdaten claim that scouts view the young attacking midfielder as someone who "combines the vision of Mesut Ozil with the pace of modern football." That certainly sounds exciting, doesn't it?
The German sensation is often regarded as one of the finest playmakers to ever grace the game. He registered 77 assists in 254 games for Arsenal. He also assisted 80 goals in 159 matches at Real Madrid. Only two players have assisted the great Cristiano Ronaldo more than he did. Ozil was the supply line for Ronaldo on 31 occasions, Gareth Bale assisted him 32 times and Karim Benzema 44 times.
Maza may not have made the same sort of splash as Ozil did at a young age but there are certainly plenty of similarities. Against Augsburg last week, the Algeria international managed three key passes but also had five shots and completed four dribbles.
In total this season he has five goals and six assists in 39 matches but that does not paint the full picture. He is one of the best young players in Europe right now. The stats below showcase that.
Maza vs U21 midfielders in Europe's top five leagues
Stat (2025/26 season)
Accurate crosses
Duels won
Progressive carries
Successful dribbles
Successful attacking actions
Key passes
Passes into penalty box
Described as "a wizard in tight spaces" by analyst Spencer Mossman, the Leverkusen sensation would surely represent an upgrade on Eze, even if the latter is more experienced.
This term, he's demolishing him in a number of the most important metrics for players in their positions.
Maza vs Eze 2025-26
When it comes to key passing and progressive actions, he's one of the best in the business. Compared to Eze, who ranks in the top 20% for chance creation, Maza is in the top 3%.
The former may well be coming good at Arsenal but not even he can beat Leverkusen's young playmaking sensation for that metric.
Ibrahim Maza
It is safe to say that if Maza cannot solve Arsenal's problems against low blocks and when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities, nobody will.
saka Related
[The new Saka: Arsenal in talks to sign £43m star who "plays like Raphinha"](https://www.footballfancast.com/the-new-saka-arsenal-in-talks-to-sign-eduardo-conceicao/ "The new Saka: Arsenal in talks to sign £43m star who "plays like Raphinha"")
Arsenal could sign an exciting talent who's like Saka and Raphinha.