The sound of fans being wowed by his football is something that has followed Eberechi Eze wherever he has played. The Arsenal forward is known for his off-the-cuff skill, maverick nature and entertaining style. But lately, those familiar elements of Eze have been missing.
Sunday's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest was Eze's first Premier League start of the season. But replaced at half-time, having completed just nine passes and 22 touches of the ball, many have started to question whether he can reproduce the performances he was once known for. Arsenal criticism from very small minority - Arteta Madueke's 'anger and conviction' shows he's more than a 'finisher' This is not the first time Eze's role in the squad has been called into question.
He switched off when Matty Cash scored Aston Villa's opener in their 2-1 defeat in December 2025 and, despite starting the following game, was left on the substitute's bench for the next four league matches. And while the 28-year-old is a much-loved character around both the Arsenal and England squads, even Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel referenced how Eze was "coming back to his true shape and form" in training during the last international break - hinting that he has not been at his best so far this season. The reason Eze's performance is coming under scrutiny now is that the Gunners failed to land a new world-class attacker in the transfer window, despite being heavily interested in Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr and Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
Arsenal signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge in the summer and the Greek international had been the first-choice winger for Mikel Arteta this season, until he picked up a hamstring injury on international duty. Tzolis being out of action presented an opportunity for Eze to break into the squad again, scoring in a start on the left wing against Lille in the Champions League - but he was unable to follow that up against Forest. "I think that finding his role and position has been challenging," former Arsenal and England defender Matt Upson said.
"And when you come to a club with the stature and the quality of Arsenal, if you're not showing that you're nailing down a certain role, I think it's very very hard to maintain a position in the team. "He's now filling in a bit on the left-hand side, which I don't think particularly suits him, but he's had to. "He doesn't play like a wide player for me and I think just knowing your role when you're at a club like Arsenal is so important." Eze scored some spectacular goals in big moments when he was at Crystal Palace, including the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City in 2025.
"I think all the high-end stuff that we saw from him which made him a player that Arsenal we're going to go and target, that's the icing on the cake," said Upson. "So when the foundation's not quite there in terms of the situations you're getting in and how quickly you get into the ball, where you are on the field, where your headspace is at about what your role is and what you've got to do, then it's hard to produce those moments that make you the top player." Eze shone from the left at Palace, but in his final two seasons in south London he operated from a narrower number 10 role. But with captain Martin Odegaard the first choice in that position at Arsenal and Arteta unlikely to start the pair regularly with the options he has available in the middle of the pitch, it means Eze's route into the team is limited.
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