Jermaine Pennant has urged Mikel Arteta to make a brave team selection decision for Arsenal’s game against Nottingham Forest this weekend.
The Gunners host a Forest side who have endured a turbulent couple of weeks at the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime.
Evangelos Marinakis has sacked Nuno Espirito Santo and subsequently appointed Ange Postecoglou, after the Portuguese manager fell out with Global Head of Football, Edu Gaspar.
Arteta will no doubt want his side to play aggressively from the outset and try to take advantage of this instability in the Forest ranks.
Jermaine Pennant says Mikel Arteta has to start Eberechi Eze vs Nottingham Forest
Arteta has some decisions to make regarding his team on Saturday.
While most of the back four and midfield picks themselves, with Cristhian Mosquera likely to come in for the injured William Saliba, the left wing is up for debate.
Gabriel Martinelli was poor against Liverpool and could easily lose his place to new signing Eberechi Eze.
Eze only arrived a matter of days before Arsenal’s trip to Anfield, and thus it was reasonable for him to be left on the bench for that clash, but Arteta can’t be as conservative against Forest.
Former Gunners winger Jermaine Pennant is adamant that Eze should start over Martinelli, as well as Leandro Trossard, on the left side of the North Londoners’ attack.
“So I’m going to have Grealish, and I’ll throw in Eze,” Pennant said on the Wildcards podcast when picking his FPL team for the week.
“Eze needs to start, he needs to start. Arteta got slaughtered for not starting Eze at Anfield. He came on, made an impact and looked dangerous, and they’re going against a team now who aren’t strong defensively.”
Eberechi Eze’s skillset will be crucial for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest
It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou will immediately implement his ideas at Forest against Arsenal.
However, it’s more likely that he’ll take a slightly more pragmatic approach and utilise the effective low block that Espirito Santo has instilled over the last two seasons.
Roy Hodgson has described Eze as ‘exciting’ in the past, and the 27-year-old’s eye-catching attributes will certainly be useful in a clash against a side that will likely sit deep.
| Eberechi Eze’s Premier League Statistics 2024/25 | |
| Appearances | 34 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Shots per 90 | 3.48 |
| Expected Goals per 90 | 0.36 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 2.01 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.22 |
| Successful Take-ons per 90 | 2.33 |
As shown by the data above, the England international takes a lot of shots, whilst he also takes players on frequently.
These two specific facets of his game will help unlock Forest’s stubborn low block, which will look to clog players centrally and prevent Arsenal from accessing the box through intricate passing patterns.
Eze will hope to make his first major contribution in a red and white shirt, and get off the mark for the season.
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