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Jamie Carragher has issued an apology after previously questioning Arsenal's summer acquisition of Eberechi Eze.
The Gunners midfielder delivered a masterclass performance in Mikel Arteta's side's commanding 4-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, etching his name into history as the first player to score a hat-trick in a North London Derby since Alan Sunderland achieved the feat in 1978.
Eze, who turned down the Lilywhites to join Arsenal in an $88 million (£67 million) transfer, struck either side of the interval before completing his treble with 15 minutes remaining. In his post-match analysis on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool defender admitted he had misjudged the England international.
"I must be honest, I think when Arsenal signed him and when I had my Liverpool hat on, and I looked at the signings Arsenal made... beside Viktor Gyokeres, it felt like a lot of them were to strengthen the squad really," Carragher said.
"So where Arsenal had problems the year before was when [Bukayo] Saka was out, they bought [Noni] Madueke. [Martin] Odegaard was out, they bought Eze.
"One of the center-backs was out, so they got a couple of center-backs.
"It was only really Gyokeres who I felt was going to go into the team.
"If I am being honest, I think if [Kai] Havertz was one hundred per cent fit, Havertz would probably be the center-forward in this team, I think."
Eze was the Man of the Match against Spurs and has made a good start to life at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, from this point, is the clear favorite to win the Premier League title.
Carragher continued: "So, when Eze came in I thought, 'OK maybe he's not a game-changer', and Les [Ferdinand] knows him a lot better than me and he still said earlier on in the show 'there's still a lot more to come'.
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"But then we still see some of his highlights this season and there are a few great goals in there and then he goes and scores a hat-trick, so apologies.
"I certainly undervalued the importance that signing was because he looks like he could make a real difference for Arsenal this season and go on and win the title."
Thierry Henry also had high praise for Eze, highlighting the former Crystal Palace star's knack for finding space in and around the box. In Odegaard's absence through injury, the England ace has stepped up.
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