arsenal eze north london derby
Eberechi Eze needs to take his chance while he has it amid an Arsenal injury blow. The Gunners will already have been sat nervously through this extended international break, knowing many of their players were at risk of getting injured, and with a week to go until club action resumes, Mikel Arteta has seen two of his players pick up blows.
The Gunners lost Kai Havertz to a hamstring issue last week while he was playing for Germany, and to make matters worse, Christos Tzolis picked up a hamstring issue of his own during Greece's draw with the Netherlands on Thursday. According to Football.London,
Eze's underwhelming season so far
Appearances: 4 (All as substitute)
Pass success: 78.9%
Key passes: 0
Dribbles: 0.5 per game
Shots per game: 0.3 per game
Tzolis is looking at close to three weeks on the sidelines. The Havertz issue almost takes care of itself, with Viktor Gyokeres lying in wait, and he has scored three goals in three games for Sweden during this international window, so he will return to Arsenal in good form.
But there will be more concern on the left. Arsenal tried and failed to sign a top left-winger during the summer, and so they know they are weak at the position. Tzolis being ahead of where Arsenal thought he was has helped, but what hasn't helped is the lack of true competition, with the Gunners having lost Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard without replacing both of them.
The only real replacement is Eze, who is more naturally an attacking midfielder. But with Martin Odegaard the starting number 10, he knows he must find a way to be productive on the left.
REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
The England international has disappointed so far this season, and there is concern over where he is going to fit in going forward.
When Arsenal are at full strength, it looks like the best Eze can hope for is a spot on the bench. The only way he can change that is by producing the sort of performances we saw from him at Crystal Palace.
It was only in April that he was being labelled as a 'magician' by BBC pundits Tim Krul and Jermaine Beckford, so we all know something is there. The latter said:
He is one of those players who can turn up and show that little bit of magic or stardust. That is exactly what Arsenal have been needing recently.
It now looks as though he will have two to three weeks to offer that in a starting role in the absence of Tzolis, and it may just be the best run he gets at winning a starting spot.
Starting a run of games is going to be a rarity for Eze based on his current form, and this is an opportunity he cannot afford to waste. It might just be now or never for Eze as he looks to save his Arsenal career.
Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres