Arteta: 'Eze can create magical moments'

Coach Mikel Arteta is confident that Eberechi Eze has much more to contribute to Arsenal’s offensive style, following the debutant’s first goal in the 3rd round Carabao Cup victory against Port Vale on the early hours of Thursday (25/9).

Eze opened the scoring just 8 minutes into the game at Vale Park, but despite the early goal, Arsenal struggled to create clear chances against the League One side and only secured the win thanks to Leandro Trossard’s goal in the 86th minute.

Eze’s goal, his first since rejoining Arsenal in a £60 million deal from Crystal Palace, made a significant impact. Throughout the match, the 27-year-old was the standout figure in Arsenal’s attack.

Arteta commented after the game: “He played very centrally against an opponent using a tight 5-4-1 system in midfield. Finding space wasn’t easy, but Eze performed excellently with his goal and 3-4 other moments where he could have either shot or created chances for teammates.”

“He needs more time to build better chemistry with his teammates, to understand the tempo and what he needs to do. When that happens, plays like these will occur more frequently and effectively. Overall, it was a very good performance, and I believe Eze can do even more.”

In this match, Eze started as a left winger but Arteta has experimented with him in various roles across five games this season.

Arteta added: “What we want is to position him in spots and spaces where Eze can create magical moments. Sometimes that will be from the wing, sometimes from the inside channel, depending on the opponent.”

Arsenal worked hard to deepen their squad over the summer to compete on multiple fronts. This was evident in the recent match, where Arteta made nine changes from the 1-1 draw with Man City on Sunday but still fielded a strong lineup.

Kepa Arrizabalaga made his debut in goal, Christian Norgaard started in midfield for the first time, and Bukayo Saka played 60 minutes to regain fitness after a hamstring injury. Arteta acknowledged having more options ahead of the away game at Newcastle this weekend.

“What we need to do is produce quality performances from players who haven’t played much together yet, with a completely new midfield and a different attack. Max Dowman also came on and immediately adapted well. I’m sure everyone will get more chances this season.”