Liverpool v Arsenal - Premier League
Eberechi Eze came off the bench in the 70th minute to make his Arsenal debut (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has been accused of making Eberechi Eze a ‘scapegoat’ after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Premier League title rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the only goal of the match as Arne Slot’s top-flight champions registered a narrow win over last season’s runners-up.
Arsenal signed Eze from Crystal Palace this summer in a £67.5m deal and the Englishman came off the bench to make his debut against the Reds.
Eze replaced Gabriel Martinelli on 70 minutes – and could’ve scored – with Arsenal manager Arteta mentioning the missed chance after the match.
Arteta: You have to put the ball in the net
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Speaking to Sky Sports after the game at Anfield, Arteta said: ‘You have to put the ball in the back of the net.
‘We were much better than last year when we drew the game. Today we have three, four, five situations inside the box one-vs-one.
Metro at the Match: Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal
Metro at the Matchreturns to bring you all the analysis from the biggest games of the season.
Here’s were our team’s key takeways from Liverpool’s dramatic 1-0 win over Arsenal…
Arsenal’s pursuit of Piero Hincapie looks especially timely after William Saliba was forced off after just five minutes. Cristhian Mosquera deputised well in the Frenchman’s absence, but Mikel Arteta must be pleased to have another reinforcement on the way – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
One position Arsenal are still lacking in quality is the left wing. Gabriel Martinelli doesn’t quite know when to release the ball and was kept quiet by Dominic Szobozlai all game. If Martinelli can’t do it against someone who isn’t a proper right-back, who can he do it against? – Charlie Barclay, sports video journalist
Sunday proved to be yet another quiet afternoon for Liverpool’s record signing, Florian Wirtz. The German is still yet to get to grips with Arne Slot’s system and has left the Reds’ midfield looking unbalanced as a consequence – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
The potential signing of Marc Guehi appears to have finally jolted Ibrahima Konate into action. The French centre-back delivered his most assured performance of the season so far and dealt with the threat of Viktor Gyokeres with ease – Ben Fleming, sports reporter
Arsenal found it difficult to create much yet again, constantly passing it backwards to David Raya, who was then forced to kick it long. Noni Madueke was the only outfield player who was bright on the day, but was dealt with impressively by Milos Kerkez – Charlie Barclay, sports video journalist
‘Eze is completely through just to finish the action. You have to put the ball in the net if you want to win.’
‘Bit harsh to throw Eze under the bus’
Liverpool v Arsenal - Premier League
Some fans have blasted Mikel Arteta for his post-match comments (Picture: Getty)
Some football fans have blasted Arteta for his post-match comments about Eze’s missed chance.
‘How’s he calling out Eze but not Martinelli?’ @joulez234 asked on X. ‘Arteta you are a sick man.’
‘Oh no he’s found a new scapegoat,’ @Z_am_ posted.
Liverpool v Arsenal - Premier League
Eberechi Eze joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace this summer (Picture: Getty)
‘Eze the scapegoat after ONE GAME OMDSS,’ @RushTHFC added. ‘LET IT ALL WORK OUT THEY SAID.’
On Reddit, meanwhile, @Kayville said: ‘Bit harsh to throw Eze under the bus in a game he should have started or at least came on earlier.’
‘Arteta shouldn’t critique specific players by name in public, he can critique them in private,’ @chobobot opined. ‘Especially the player you just bought and only played 20 mins of the game.’
Other supporters, meanwhile, defended Arteta and felt he was not scapegoating Eze in his post-match interview.
‘He’s not scapegoated him,’ @akinidaddy wrote. ‘He’s saying we were better and describing how close we came.’
‘You guys are so sensitive,’ @FrostedFluke posted. ‘He’s not saying anything wrong here and I’m sure Eze would be the first one to agree he should have done better. That was our best chance of the night.’
Arsenal are back in action on September 13 as they look to get back to winning ways in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest.
MORE: Michael Owen reveals mistake Arsenal made for Dominik Szoboszlai’s Liverpool winner
MORE: David Raya gives bizarre excuse for not saving Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick
MORE: Manchester United legend slams Mikel Arteta’s ‘ugly’ and ‘annoying’ Arsenal
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