Eberechi Eze is Arsenal’s hero right now, but for the majority of the season, he’s had to deal with Mikel Arteta’s decisions not to play him as much as he’d perhaps hoped.
Arsenal signed Eze as a Premier League superstar, but few anticipated how great the jump between Crystal Palace and the Gunners actually is.
Some were actually surprised that Arteta selected Eze to start in the North London Derby, as, before the 4-1 win at Tottenham, Eze hadn’t recorded a shot on target in the Premier League since November.
Due to such a lack of form, even the player himself thinks Arteta’s game time decisions are justified.
Eberechi Eze told his friends that he understood why Mikel Arteta had given him limited game time at Arsenal
As mentioned, the difference between representing Palace and Arsenal is significant, and Eze told his friends that after he was hooked at half-time against both Aston Villa and Brentford.
That’s the understanding of The Sun, who shared an insight into how Eze has reacted to his lack of game time.
TRUE or FALSE: Mikel Arteta’s system is holding Eberechi Eze back at Arsenal…
Referring to the Brentford and Aston Villa substitutions, it’s understood that ‘he admitted to close friends that he deserved the hook’.
The reason for Eze believing that he deserved to be hooked was because he acknowledged that ‘his performance levels were nowhere near the standard of a title-winning midfielder’.
It’s refreshing to hear of a player taking accountability for poor performances, rather than expecting superstar status as a result of a high-profile transfer.
How the North London Derby has presented Eze with his biggest Arsenal test
After the North London Derby, Eze’s lacklustre performances were automatically labelled a thing of the past by supporters, which is why it’s now critical that the playmaker himself ensures that’s the case.
Between the November clash with Spurs and the February one, Eze had offered next to nothing for Arsenal in the Premier League, but he worked a lifeline for himself by impressing in the derby again.
TRUE or FALSE: Eberechi Eze has just taken Martin Odegaard’s spot at Arsenal… 👀
Arteta selected Eze to start because of the motivation the home North London Derby gave him, but that level of trust won’t come again if he doesn’t earn it.
With Martin Odegaard back fit and Kai Havertz close to returning, the margin for error is now minuscule for Eze.
There won’t be another derby-day life raft for Arteta to throw to his playmaker, so it’s sink or swim for the summer signing for the remainder of the season.
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