Eberechi Eze played the full 90 minutes as Arsenal defeated Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final to seal their spot at Wembley, but chances have been short-lived in recent days.
Eberechi Eze applauds Arsenal fans after the win over Chelsea (Image: Arsenal FC, Getty Images)
Eberechi Eze spoke with passion and pride after helping Arsenal reach Wembley. This came back to the Arsenal fans, who were wide-eyed and grinning, beaming with all their might as they realized their dreams.
Eze started against Chelsea and played a complete game, helping the team advance to next month’s Carabao Cup final.
“Of course, this is my club and it’s been my dream since I was young. So to win with Arsenal, to achieve something with Arsenal, this is everything to me,” he said after the match.
“Special, special, special. It’s a game you want to play in. It’s a game you want to put in those types of performances. So yeah, it’s certainly special to be a part of it.”
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He started last week against Kairat Almaty and came on as a substitute for nine minutes against Leeds. That’s better than recently, when he went a few games without being sniffed at.
There must be concerns that his place in England’s World Cup squad is in jeopardy if he is not playing regularly.
And all of this seems really tough for a player who had a great November. He scored a hat-trick against Tottenham, was excellent against Bayern Munich and started in the very tough draw between Arsenal and Chelsea. He played them all.
However, Arsenal’s defeat to Aston Villa in early December seemed to change his season. To put him and Martin Odegaard in the same line-up, Eze was pushed wide to the left, where he had previously played, but he was clearly the better number 10. Even Crystal Palace fans will say so.
Eze failed to pick up Matty Cash for Villa’s opener, got carried away at half-time and has hardly been considered a first-choice starter ever since.
That’s cruel. That’s Mikel Arteta’s style of hard knocks. One mistake and you’re done.
To be fair, there used to be a dilemma about putting Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe in the same line-up. It disappeared quickly.
Eze is not a great wide left player. But he can function as a dual No. 8 and is clearly a very good No. 10. Personally, I think his presence has probably put pressure on Odegaard this season and he’s looked good at times. The last three weeks haven’t been that great.
But Eze needs and deserves a little more of a chance. It’s difficult to judge when to bring him in and out of a game.
Eberechi Eze must regain momentum (Image: Getty Images)
Arteta also needs to work with him, get more and use him. Because as a player he is strong, skilled, incredibly intelligent and really offers a strong replacement for Odegaard.
It hurts just to see him speak with so much love and passion, but it hurts not to be properly flogged. There are a lot of games coming up so I think he will get more playing time. It’s now up to him to seize this moment.
Because last summer, he was such a good story – and it deserved a happy ending.
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