The key talking points from Arsenal's win over Leeds and a look ahead to the club's return to Champions League action
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta needs to find a way of getting more from Arsenal attacker Ebere Eze
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Mikel Arteta is always firm and honest when reflecting upon matches. After Arsenal's crucial 2-1 fightback against Leeds, he took the chance to praise Noni Madueke following a productive display on the left side of the Gunners' attack.
Arteta said: "I'm really happy with him because he deserves the chance that he got and he grabbed it with both hands, so when I haven't liked so much what he was doing or it wasn't impacting the game, I made certain decisions, he has accepted them.
"What he's done is raised the level and in training he's been the best player in the last 10 days and he gave me an option not to select him and not to play him today and you could see that every time he was in and around the ball, he looked it as well."
Arsenal's left flank has been a prominent topic since the start of the season. Arsenal decided to offload both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli and only brought in Christos Tzolis, who is now injured, in that department.
After Tzolis picked up a hamstring issue while away with Greece, all signs pointed towards a big opportunity for Eberechi Eze. He excelled on the left flank in various stages of last season and he's been craving a chance to shine.
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Eze even started on the left for England earlier this week as they ran out 3-0 winners over Czechia in the Nations League. But now, despite Tzolis being out of the team, he still does not appear to be first choice. In fact, he didn't even get off the bench.
Arteta is clever. He knows he is likely to spark a reaction from Eze by publicly praising Madueke's attitude and work ethic in training. Of course, Madueke was worthy of the praise but now Eze knows he needs to step things up a notch.
He likely already knew that anyway as he is still yet to start a game for Arsenal in the Premier League this season. Some may feel that he should never have enabled Tzolis to claim the shirt in the first place. Now he needs to find a way of forcing himself back into Arteta's starting XI.
Eze will probably start against Lille but that particular match needs to represent a platform to build on. Earlier this week, the attacker shared his new YouTube channel on his socials and hinted he'll be posting regular behind-the-scenes content.
Respectfully, it doesn't feel like the right time for Eze to launch such a channel when he's clearly got so much to prove at Arsenal. Footballers are not robots and expressive characters like Eze need championing. However, timing is everything and Arsenal spent big money on him at £67.5million.
Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze needs to crank things up a notch at Arsenal(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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He was also very much a signing that saw them stretch themselves to their financial limit. It feels like the Gunners could be getting more out of him right now and they will certainly need his creative skills and wizardry moving forward. He has talent to die for and can still play a huge role in the club's season.
Eze has the chance to really kick on this month and hopefully that is a chance that he grabs with both hands. football.london expects him to come in and be one of several changes when the French side are in town next week in the Champions League.
Jurrien Timber should come in for Ben White, who assisted Riccardo Calafiori's leveller against Leeds. Cristhian Mosquera should also start alongside Gabriel Magalhaes while Piero Hincapie would surely come in for Calafiori - if his freak injury scare after Saturday's win over Leeds doesn't prove to be serious.
Bruno Guimaraes seems certain to start in midfield, likely alongside Myles Lewis-Skelly while Madueke could shift to the right, Mikel Merino could start as the No.10 and Eze could come in on the left.
Viktor Gyokeres will also lead the line, he can count himself unlucky to start on the bench against Leeds United following his four-goal Nations League haul during the international break.