Mikel Arteta’s decision to make several changes to the Arsenal team that started at Anfield paid off.
Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 to return to winning ways in the Premier League after the international break.
The most anticipated change was whether Eberechi Eze would replace Gabriel Martinelli to make his first start for the Gunners.
Amid Martinelli’s poor form, the Arsenal manager made the tweak, dropping the Brazilian to the bench to accommodate Eze on the left.
Eberechi Eze’s first half vs Nottingham Forest blew Gabriel Martinelli out of the water
Eze got his first goal contribution for Arsenal on his full debut, making it an afternoon to remember for the Englishman at the Emirates.
The 27-year-old showed exactly why the Gunners signed him, as Eze was instrumental against Forest, adding a fresh dimension to the left side that had been missing for so long.
It didn’t take Eze long at all to show what he can offer in place of Martinelli, with not only the eye test proving that Arsenal have secured an upgrade.
At half-time, founder of Cannon Stats, Scott Willis, took to X to share a mind-blowing statistic about the two left-sided players.
Willis revealed that Eze had received more passes in the attacking half in 45 minutes than Martinelli had in his previous 128 minutes of action for Arsenal.
The England international got himself into space to receive 14 attacking half passes in the first half against Forest, while Martinelli had recorded just eight over his last two matches.
It’s a staggering showing of how much more influential Eze can be to Arsenal’s attack, with his assist in the second half the icing on the cake.
Mikel Arteta lauded Eze’s impact on Arsenal becoming unpredictable
Given that Arsenal are open to selling Martinelli in the near future, it’s ideal that the Brazilian’s successor has hit the ground running in N5.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Ange Postecoglou’s side, Arteta lauded his new attacking signings for making the Gunners more ‘unpredictable’.
“The new ones that started, five for them today, really impressed with them,” Arteta said when asked about Eze.
“I think you can sense and feel that there are new relationships flourishing there that are going to give us different things. Did we go more unpredictable?”
It was a perfect first start for Eze at the Emirates, with the playmaker hungry to add to his goal contribution tally when the Gunners host Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday night.
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