It is easy to look straight at goal and assist tallies and just because they dip from a previous season, suddenly the assumption is made that a player has dipped in form. In the case of Arsenal transfer target Eberechi Eze, this is exactly the perception.
Last season, the Crystal Palace talisman enjoyed a great campaign, scoring 11 Premier League goals and adding a further four assists. This season, he has scored just twice in the league but has better his assist tally with six.
Eze was a player many thought might have left last summer after his big season for Palace but the club's chairman Steve Parish told Sky Sports of his shock that after the move for Bayern Munich for Michael Olise that there was so little movement toward Eze.
"I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebbs in the same window and we didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have," Parish said.
"I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person."
However, data has come to light courtesy of DataMB showing just how impressive an attacking outlet Eze has been for Palace this season. In the below graphic of Premier League attacking midfielders and wingers, it cross-references shots per 90 and shot assists per 90 - passes which lead to shots, but not necessarily goals - to see which players have been working to find attacking returns.
Looking to the right-hand side, Eze stands out, ranking highest among all for shots per 90 at close to 3.5, beating Cole Palmer, Mohamed Salah, Antoine Semenyo and many others. Creatively he ranks well too, fourth in the list of dozens of players behind only Bukayo Saka, Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-min.
How astonishing that Saka remains top of the tree by a distance despite how much he has been missing, showing exactly the impact on the club this season. But for Eze, it could be that he fills a perfect hole in the side.
Martin Odegaard has struggled for form but has no respite due to the lack of competitive depth in the role. Eze could certainly fill this and operate in other areas like the wider positions and perhaps even the left eight.
If interest is low, perhaps Arsenal can swoop in to secure a market opportunity in the summer. Although, as shown by Newcastle and Tottenham’s attempts to sign Marc Guehi, Palace do drive a very hard bargain.