Eberechi Eze has finally provided the Arsenal X-Factor Mikel Arteta has been missing | Football

Even before their thumping north London derby victory against a sorry Spurs, there was plenty to suggest that this incarnation of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal was different to what had come before.

The 4-0 dismantling of Atletico Madrid within the Champions League, an outstanding late turnaround to grab victory away at Newcastle, and even the late equaliser against Manchester City were all indicative of a side that has added yet more depth, steel and quality to its ranks.

Six points clear at the highest of the Premier League table, through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and boasting an ideal record within the Champions League, the Gunners are having fun with life.

And yet, Wednesday’s visit from Bayern Munich represents one other potential inflection point, and the proper opportunity to rubber-stamp the notion that Arsenal are a team finally able to fulfil on their promise.

Arsenal fans need no reminding of their dismal record against the German giants with an infamous 10-2 aggregate defeat in 2017 representing the nadir of Arsene Wenger’s reign.

The development of the Emirates Stadium was, in accordance with former chief executive Ivan Gazidis, speculated to make sure that the north London club could be able to fighting on a fair footing with Bayern and the remainder ofEurope’s elite clubs.

And yet, as recently as two years ago, a 3-2 aggregate defeat within the quarter-finals showcased an Arsenal side that was still very much a piece in progress, particularly during their insipid second-leg defeat, which saw them fail to land a glove on Bayern.

Within the aftermath of that defeat, Ian Wright was quick to diagnose the problem. ‘We’d like someone with that little bit of X-factor,’ the ex-Gunners striker said on the time. ‘We’d like to seek out that, man, because that’s what wins these games.’

Internally, Arsenal seemingly accepted that fact, too, and earmarked attacking reinforcements for the summer. When it arrived, though, an ill-fated loan move for Raheem Sterling was the one latest face to bolster Arteta’s attacking options.

Even after Gabriel Jesus’ serious knee injury in January, the Gunners opted to maintain their powder dry, seeing their trophy hopes fade because of this when Kai Havertz and makeshift striker, Mikel Merino, didn’t deliver the products.

And this summer, while the signing of Viktor Gyokeres provided an answer to Arsenal’s lack of a No9, it looked like Arsenal were set to disregard their need for a real gamechanger before their eleventh-hour swoop for Eberechi Eze.

And while it had been a solid if unspectacular begin to his life on the Emirates, Eze has now shown himself to be Arsenal’s X-factor together with his derby-day hat-trick to dismantle Thomas Frank’s Tottenham.

Arsenal have worn down teams with their system, their relentless pressing, and their set-piece brutality this season. But here was an Arsenal side carving open a dogged and defensive opposition by one other means, with individual quality and moments of magic.

For that, Arteta deserves credit. Former Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand, who helped nurture Eze at Queens Park Rangers, noted pre-match that the midfielder had been fidgeting with ‘the handbrake on’ to date at Arsenal. 

But here, he was given license to roam, to seek out space where few other teammates couldn’t, and it proved pivotal. Combining a fleetness of foot with a tunnel-focused clarity of thought on the sting of the box, Eze only needed six shots to walk away with the match ball.

‘When a player has such a talent, and his desire is at that level, then these items occur. And he fully deserves it. I’m so comfortable for him, because because the day that he got here, he brought something else to the team,’ Arteta said glowingly of Eze post-match.

‘So it’s a joy, it’s an aura that this team needed and hopefully it can give him a variety of confidence to him and the team, that at any moment he can win us a game. That’s the power that he has and he definitely must fulfil that talent.’

Does Eze’s ‘aura’ give Arteta a variety headache?

That ‘aura’ which Arteta describes is something few Arsenal players, despite their collective quality, emit. Martin Odegaard, for all his brilliance and varied qualities in Arteta’s system, can’t quite take a game away from the opposition in the identical way as his midfield counterpart.

The Norwegian remains to be yet to return to full fitness and may very well be in with a shout of featuring in Wednesday’s clash with Bayern. The 26-year-old offers plenty, not least in the best way he marshals Arsenal’s front-footed pressing machine, and will probably be a fine addition back within the matchday squad.

Arsenal’s relentless fixture schedule, which has Arteta’s side playing ten times in three competitions before the tip of the yr, will give Arteta loads of opportunities to deploy each Eze and Odegaard in his system.

But as Gunners legend Thierry Henry noted on Sky Sports on Sunday: ‘This guy Eze is a ten for me, he’s not a winger, he’s a ten.

‘He must be in the course of the park he showed it tonight, in order that’s what you wish, healthy competition, that’s what you wish.’

It shouldn’t be just Odegaard coming back into the fold. Each Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli were back on the bench on the weekend, and Arsenal’s returning cavalry will probably be the envy of lots of their rivals in the approaching weeks.

Nevertheless, Eze’s coming-out display was surely a message to his boss that the 27-year-old can’t be viewed as a flexible player to bolster squad depth, but somewhat a difference maker who must be thrust into the limelight and given the liberty in Arsenal’s biggest games.

Bayern will offer a stern test. Vincent Kompany’s side are unbeaten in all competitions and have only dropped points once this season: a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin in the beginning of November.

But when Eze is given the liberty to be his mercurial best once more, Arsenal have the proper opportunity to banish their Bayern demons and lay down a marker in one more competition.

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