Ex-Arsenal star reveals exactly what is going wrong for Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze has been told that his ‘laid-back’ style is hampering his success with Arsenal. The England winger joined the Gunners for £67.5m in the summer from Crystal Palace.
And he endured a bright start to life in North London netting against his former club, as well as a hat-trick against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in November. Eze has however not scored since then, while he has regularly been benched by boss Mikel Arteta over recent weeks.
Former Arsenal star Nigel Winterburn has offered his take on Eze’s difficulties and suggested that his style is costing him. Speaking to Metro via Gambling.com, he said: “He’s now at a huge club in terms of expectation, and he, Havertz, and Odegaard are battling to be in the same position.
“The one thing I would say is Odegaard’s all energy. Eze looks a little bit more laid-back with the way, the style he plays.
“When he gets that opportunity, I would just like to see him a bit more demanding of the ball in the creative areas and really showing us what we know he can do. He’s got lovely close control, can pick out a pass, and can score goals.”
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And while Winterburn believes that Eze isn’t quite fitting with the Gunners quite yet, he has backed the winger to get up to speed sooner rather than later.
He added: “From now to the end of the season, I would think Eze is going to get plenty of game time. He’s a player I really like.
“Although we don’t like to say it, sometimes, when you sign players, you give them up to a year to completely settle in.
“We want everyone to hit the ground running and show us exactly what they’ve got. But Mikel Arteta’s style is a high-intensity press. It’s a huge amount of workload on the players, and Eze’s just got to adapt to that situation.”
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Arsenal are back in action this weekend as they take on Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round. The North London side will then resume their push for the Premier League crown in midweek as they travel to rock bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Arsenal remain top of the table but are now just four points clear of Manchester City following the 1-1 draw with Brentford on Wednesday evening.