Eberechi Eze arrived at Arsenal with huge expectations, and for a spell last season he delivered on them.
Twelve months on, his early form tells a different story. The debate over Eberechi Eze Arsenal form has become one of the more pressing subjects around the Emirates Stadium as September draws to a close.
The £63.5million signing scored in four separate Premier League matches last season. Those moments suggested he had settled quickly into Mikel Arteta’s system.
This term, though, he has yet to register a goal or an assist in any competition. For a player signed to add end product from wide areas, that drop-off has not gone unnoticed among supporters or pundits watching closely.
Eberechi Eze Struggles to Ignite Second Season at Arsenal
Arteta has continued to select Eze in his favoured attacking positions. He has not dropped him or hidden him from view. The problem is simpler than tactics: the end product that defined his first year at the club has not shown up yet in this one.
Eze is still only 27 and has plenty of career left to shape. But second seasons carry their own pressure, especially for a player brought in at such a fee.
Summer Attacking Reshape Opens Left-Wing Opportunity
Arsenal’s forward line changed considerably over the summer. Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli all left the club. That cleared out three players who had regularly competed for minutes on the left and through the middle. Christos Tzolis arrived as a direct replacement, but the exits still left a gap that many expected Eze to fill.
On paper, the timing suited him well. Eze’s best form at Crystal Palace often came from the left, cutting inside onto his stronger foot.
With Martin Odegaard entrenched centrally and no direct rival left wide, the path looked clear. He started on the left during the Carabao Cup trip to Ipswich, and Arteta’s early tactical selection decisions suggested real trust in his ability to seize the role.
Zero Goal Contributions Highlight Early Campaign Form
Instead of grabbing the chance, Eze has struggled to influence games from that position.
He started on the left again away to Napoli, and neither performance did much to ease growing concerns. Eberechi Eze’s Arsenal form was picked apart on the Seeing Red podcast, where Tom Canton gave this assessment.
“Yeah, I feel… It’s not that I feel sorry for Eze. I just have frustrations with it, because I was utterly convinced when they signed him that this is an incredible signing for a club like Arsenal.
!I felt he’s ready-made, not only a competitor for the attacking midfield positions, but also a player that can offer [quality] off the left. So Arteta really went in on this being a great opportunity on his left-hand side and said all his best moments at Palace came off the left-hand side.
“So it’s frustrating that it’s not worked. And when I was at Ipswich watching the game, and he started on the left, and in Naples as well, he really disappointed. He was not effective. It almost felt like he’s not happy and that he’s not taking this with both hands.
“Like you said, look at Tzolis, he really wants to show and impress in every game. And I just don’t get that same sense from Eze at the moment. You know, he’s obviously older than Tzolis as well. And maybe he feels like, you know, this should be coming more to him, and he doesn’t need to apply himself, and maybe it should be coming easier to him than it currently is. I think with Eze, you’re right.
“This should have been a moment in his career where with Trossard and Martinelli gone. There’s an opening here. Odegaard’s in great form. I’m not getting in there, but I can start for Arsenal on the left. I’m a £63.5million signing. I need to take this opportunity.”
Canton’s frustration centred on how ready-made Eze looked when he first arrived, and how clear the opportunity in front of him now is.
His comparison with Tzolis, discussed on the Seeing Red podcast, underlined the gap in urgency between a young signing still fighting to prove himself and an established one who appears to be waiting for form to return on its own.
England Role Remains Intact Amid Growing Emirates Competition
Despite the drop in club form, Eze’s international standing has not wavered. He continues to be called up for England, a reflection of the qualities that persuaded Arsenal to pay such a fee for him.
Eze’s ongoing England national team duty shows he remains part of the picture at international level, even while his club output stalls.
That contrast makes his Arsenal situation harder to ignore. Canton also flagged the competition building behind him at the Emirates, warning that the road ahead looks difficult.
“You’ve got Max Downman coming through, who I think is the heir to Odegaard’s position. So I don’t see Eze taking on that role. And I just think that it’s really tough for him. Very tough.”
With Odegaard first choice through the middle and Downman rated as his long-term successor, Eze’s route back into Arteta’s plans runs through the left flank.
It was handed to him this summer, and it remains his to claim. How quickly he can turn that opportunity into goals and assists will shape how his second season at Arsenal is remembered.
Comments.
Loading comments…