Eberechi Eze has declared he would 'for sure' take a penalty for England at the World Cup, following his missed spot-kick in Arsenal's Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.
The 27-year-old midfielder, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace last summer, fired wide with a stuttered effort during the shootout in Budapest, missing the chance to put the Gunners 3-1 ahead. Shortly after, Gabriel Magalhaes skied his penalty over the crossbar, handing victory to PSG and allowing Luis Enrique's side to successfully defend their European crown, a year after their emphatic win over Inter Milan.
The defeat was a crushing blow for Arsenal, who have now lost both of their Champions League final appearances. However, Mikel Arteta's men ended their Premier League title drought just 11 days earlier, when Bournemouth stunned Manchester City, sparking celebrations in north London.
Eze's wayward penalty did not affect his World Cup chances, as Thomas Tuchel included the Arsenal star in his 26-man squad for the tournament. It remains uncertain whether Eze will feature in England's opening Group L match against Croatia at Dallas' AT&T Stadium on Wednesday.
Asked if he would step up in a shootout for the Three Lions, Eze replied: 'If called upon, for sure. Why wouldn't I take it? Football is full of everything and you have to try to accept everything as it is, to enjoy it as much as you can. Playing in a Champions League final is where I want to be, it's what I want to do. We'll go for it again next season and if there is a penalty to take then I'll be there again. All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these type of moments.'
Eze is determined to put the heartache behind him and use the experience as part of his development. 'I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it's part of the journey,' he added. 'You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I'm not going to stress too much about it because I know I'm in this position for a reason and all the training behind it. Honestly before even speaking to other players, you can see the way big players carry themselves. You step up, you do what you need to do. If you miss, you miss. If you score, you score. It's having the mentality to keep going. That's part of the journey.'
Tuchel made it clear that Eze has the full support of his teammates and coaching staff. 'It's painful for Ebs but of course, I will take care of it, the group will take care of him and I think the extra week they had will help a lot,' the German said. 'They've absolutely had a great season. They should know that a final just comes down to one or two shots in a penalty shoot-out which means it cannot be closer. At some point, a winner has to be found. I have lost some finals in a penalty shoot-out and it's the closest way to lose and it hurts, of course. It hurts a lot to lose big finals but a penalty means you did everything right. It couldn't be closer. But it also means you were absolutely on the same level with maybe the best team in the world at the moment.'
Eze is one of four Arsenal players in the England squad, alongside Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, and Declan Rice, who was named Harry Kane's vice-captain last week. Tuchel praised the quartet's Premier League triumph: 'I'm very happy that they got the title in England. I think that took a lot of weight off their shoulders and they were aware they did what they could and they were very close in the final. I haven't spoken to them. I think they got a lot of messages and spoke to a lot of people. I thought I would just leave them to themselves, so they could be proud of what they achieved. We spoke after their title in the Premier League, which was the big target and I think that was the main target. We're in good spirits, so this is normally what helps and I think they're very well aware of what they achieved this season.'
