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Mikel Arteta has only ever started Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard together in the starting lineup once, and Arsenal lost
Eberechi Eze has outlined his desire to play in the Carabao Cup final following Arsenal's 4-2 aggregate win over Chelsea. Kai Havertz dragged the Gunners to a 1-0 victory in the second leg of the semi-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, sealing a place at Wembley Stadium next month.
The former Chelsea striker finished off Liam Rosenior's side in the dying embers of stoppage time, helping Arsenal reach their first final in nearly six years. The Gunners will lock horns with either Manchester City or Newcastle United in the capital on March 22.
After the game, Eze claimed it would be a 'dream' to win a piece of silverware with Arsenal. The England international said: "Of course, this is my club and from young, it's been the dream. So, to win with Arsenal, to achieve stuff with Arsenal, this is everything to me.
"You want to work as hard as you can, put in the type of performance that you need to put in, and for sure, I believe it will come, and I believe that we've got the confidence and the players to do it. We'll keep pushing for it."
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Eze fired Crystal Palace to a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final last May. On the chance to play at Wembley again, the 27-year-old midfielder, whom Arsenal signed from the Eagles for £68million in the summer, said: "Special, special, special.
"It's a game that you want to play in. It's the games that you want to put these types of performances in, and yeah, it's special to be there for sure."
On the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium, he said: "The supporters, you could see the energy throughout the whole stadium. To feel it, it was powerful, and it's a special moment for us. Big performance from the team.
"I think we worked so hard and put in the necessary performance to get to the final. I think the whole team has worked so hard today, and you could see everybody at the end was just dead. So yeah, there's those types of games that you want to fight in."
Eze started ahead of Martin Odegaard, who was left out of the matchday squad as a precaution. Speaking to Sky Sports on Tuesday night, Arteta claimed that the Arsenal captain suffered a 'little niggle' against Leeds United at the weekend.
While Odegaard will be determined to lead the Gunners to glory next month, the former Palace talisman has started all but one of the Carabao Cup ties this season. The only time that Eze was dropped was when Arsenal locked horns with a team in the top half of the Premier League.
The Englishman, who made way for his skipper, was an unused substitute in the 3-2 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the semi-final. He and Odegaard have rarely featured alongside each other, and for good reason too.
The only time that Eze and the Norwegian have started together for Arsenal was in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa back in December. The Gunners were 1-0 down at the break, and Arteta had seen enough so he hooked the summer signing.
The duo have only shared the pitch three times since, with one or the other appearing off the bench in brief cameos against Portsmouth, Kairat Almaty, and Leeds.
Unless Arsenal are forced to make any changes due to injury, the Spaniard will likely either crush Eze's dream of starting at Wembley or leave Odegaard on the bench...
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