Troy Deeney says Arsenal player was better than everyone else vs Newcastle, he could’ve scored a hat-trick

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Troy Deeney nominated one Arsenal player in his BBC Sport Team of the Week after matchday six of the Premier League season.

Matchday six was a celebratory one for Mikel Arteta’s side, as after Liverpool lost to Crystal Palace, Arsenal went and won at St James’ Park.

The gap at the top of the Premier League table was narrowed to just two points, putting pressure on Arne Slot’s squad early in the campaign.

Gary Neville thinks Liverpool’s perspective of Arsenal changed after the win against Newcastle United, with the quality of Arteta’s squad there for all to see.

While there were some top performers against Newcastle, Troy Deeney didn’t hesitate to single out Eberechi Eze’s impact.

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Troy Deeney singles out Eberechi Eze’s performance against Newcastle 

The goal scorers were Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes, but Eze’s influence on the game can’t be overlooked.

While Eze’s teammates noticed his passion at St James’ Park, Deeney noticed something else about the playmaker, which was his excellence in his preferred role.

“In the number 10 position, he was easily the best player on the pitch in the win at Newcastle,” Deeney wrote in his BBC Sport Team of the Week column. 

The pundit went on to share his opinion that Eze was unfortunate not to have netted a hat-trick, crediting Nick Pope’s superb performance against Arsenal. 

“If it wasn’t for Nick Pope, he would have had a hat-trick on the day. He opens up so much for Viktor Gyokeres, for Bukayo Saka, for Leandro Trossard.

“You have so much to worry about because he just blends into these wonderful positions; he can shoot from the edge of the box, which now nobody is really doing.

“Once he is shooting, it forced the defending team to come out and try and close the shots down, which opens up space for other people. He was great.”

It’s refreshing to see Eze earn high praise after the contest, particularly after Arteta took feedback on board and started his summer signing in central attacking midfield. 

Mikel Arteta might have to make a change at Arsenal 

Arteta has, arguably, the best squad in the Premier League, but that doesn’t necessarily make the Arsenal manager’s job easy.

It wasn’t only Eze who impressed against Newcastle, but Martin Odegaard too, giving the boss a decision to make about how to fit the two playmakers in at their favoured positions.

Pushing Eze out to the left is the obvious solution, but the England international is better suited centrally, which, after the Newcastle win, is not up for debate.

Odegaard is the same, being a player glued to the central role, giving Arteta something to think about regarding whether a formation shift is worthwhile.

Next up for Arsenal in the Premier League come West Ham United, which could see the Gunners test something new to accommodate both of their expert creators.