Eberechi Eze's Arsenal Dream Stalls as Form Slump Threatens World Cup Hopes
Eberechi Eze will always cherish his glorious hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur. While he would not complain about adding to his medal collection this season, his dream move to Arsenal has dramatically fallen off script. The attacking midfielder has failed to score since etching his name into north London folklore with those three goals against Spurs back in November.
Anonymous Performance and Early Substitutions
During his first Premier League start in nearly two months against Brentford, Eze was entirely anonymous and was hauled off at half-time. This marks an unwanted trend for the player. On his previous league start, he lasted only 57 minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Before that, at Aston Villa, he failed to make it past the interval.
He has become peripheral to Arsenal's title challenge precisely when his contributions are needed most, with Kai Havertz injured again and Martin Odegaard struggling for fitness. Against Brentford, Eze was easily restricted to just 17 touches. Only one of those came inside Brentford's penalty area, while ten occurred in his own half as he drifted deeper in search of the ball.
World Cup Squad Selection in Jeopardy
At this rate, Eze appears unlikely to make the cut for Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup squad. Not only has he lost his rhythm and form, but he is also jostling for position in the most competitive area of the team. Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers currently lead the race to play behind Harry Kane, while Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Morgan Gibbs-White are also eyeing the same spot.
Although Eze can operate from the left wing, as he did effectively at Crystal Palace, so can his competitors. Tuchel seems to prefer the electric pace of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon in that role. At 27 years old, this should be Eze's World Cup, but instead, his international prospects are dimming.
Systematic Challenges at Arsenal
Arsenal found it heavy going at Brentford, and within that struggle, they failed to get their number ten on the ball in creative areas during the first half. It did not help that Viktor Gyokeres was dominated by centre-halves Sepp van den Berg and Kristoffer Ajer. A centre-forward holding up the ball might have linked Eze into play facing the goal.
Manager Mikel Arteta demands different things from his wide players compared to Crystal Palace's system under Oliver Glasner. Arteta wants quick, busy players who sprint behind defenses and work back to protect full-backs. This contrasts sharply with Glasner's counter-attacking setup, where Eze often played off the left with fewer defensive duties, drifting into pockets of space created by Adam Wharton's quick forward passes and target man Jean-Phillipe Mateta.
Confidence Crisis and Limited Impact
Eze looks low on confidence, appearing unsure how to influence games in Arteta's tightly structured team or against opponents who drop deep, crowd him out, and break directly. His sparing use in recent weeks seems to have eroded his self-assurance, leaving him a shadow of the player who lit up English football last season and sparked a transfer race.
Arteta acknowledged the challenges, stating, 'It's not easy when you move to a new club. It's always like this and when you play against a team that is like this and the ball is a lot of times not on the floor, and you have to be constantly breaking the play and do that, especially for attacking and creative players, it's more difficult.'
Odegaard's Return and Arsenal's Needs
Odegaard replaced Eze at half-time, making Arsenal tick with more urgency. Arteta explained, 'We needed another kind of profile to generate many more problems. He came on and did really well and the team had another gear and more threat to arrive to the areas we wanted.' Odegaard managed 23 touches, with all but two in Brentford's half, though he too faded and appeared low on match sharpness.
Arsenal could desperately use some of Eze's magic during these difficult final stages of the season. With Havertz injured and most opponents defending deep in numbers, the creativity he showcased last spring for Crystal Palace—scoring nine goals in 13 appearances, including the FA Cup final winner against Manchester City—is sorely missed.
Gone is the beaming smile and free spirit that illuminated London football at the end of last season. Arsenal must find a way to reignite Eze's spark, perhaps starting with the North London derby next weekend.
