Eberechi Eze has been warned that his ‘laid-back’ style could also be costing him after his latest anonymous display for Arsenal against Brentford.
Eze was handed his first Premier League start since mid-December as Mikel Arteta’s side were held to a 1-1 attract west London on Thursday evening.
But the previous Crystal Palace midfielder’s evening lasted just 45 minutes before he was replaced at half-time by Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard.
It proved one other quiet display for the 27-year-old, who had 17 touches in the primary half and accomplished only nine passes, the second fewest of any Arsenal player.
Eze looked to have arrived in an Arsenal shirt when he scored a memorable hat-trick within the north London derby, however the Englishman has didn’t kick on and secure regular minutes in Arteta’s side since then.
Former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch labelled Eze a ‘passenger’ after his half-time substitution against Brentford, and former Gunners defender Nigel Winterburn said Eze’s variety of play could also be stifling him at present.
‘He’s now at an enormous club by way of expectation, and he, Havertz, and Odegaard are battling to be in the identical position,’ Winterburn told Metro via Gambling.com, where you’ll find secure UK casino sites.
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‘The one thing I might say is Odegaard’s all energy. Eze looks a little bit bit more laid-back with the best way, the style he plays.
‘When he gets that chance, I might identical to to see him a bit more demanding of the ball within the creative areas and really showing us what we all know he can do.
‘He’s got lovely close control, can pick a pass, and may rating goals.’
Winterburn, though, was not ready to put in writing of Eze’s possibilities at Arsenal, and said the midfielder may simply be taking time to regulate to the rigours and demand’s of Arteta’s system.
‘From now to the tip of the season, I might think Eze goes to get loads of game time,’ he added. ‘He’s a player I actually like.
‘Although we don’t wish to say it, sometimes, while you sign players, you give them as much as a yr to completely settle in.
‘We wish everyone to hit the bottom running and show us exactly what they’ve got. But Mikel Arteta’s style is a high-intensity press.
‘It’s an enormous amount of workload on the players, and Eze’s just got to adapt to that situation.’
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Asked about Eze’s half-time withdrawal against Brentford, Arteta explained post-match: ‘Because with the best way that they were pressing
‘I believe we would have liked one other type of profile to generate many more problems for them around those areas and I believe [Odegaard] got here on within the pitch rather well and the team had one other gear and more threat to reach to the areas that we desired to do and that’s the choice.
‘I believe he had moments and it’s tough while you move to a brand new club, it’s at all times like this and while you play against a team that’s like this,’ Arteta added.
‘The ball is a number of times not on the ground and you’ve gotten to be continually breaking the play and do this, especially for attacking and inventive players, it’s tougher.’
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