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While Arsenal continue to hunt down the Premier League title this season in their battle against Manchester City, there are question marks over Mikel Arteta's trust within his squad
Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has questioned whether Mikel Arteta fully trusts Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres to produce in key moments for the side during their Premier League title push.
It comes as the Gunners are being put under pressure by Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, having seen their lead at the top dramatically cut in recent weeks. Frustrating draws against Wolves and Brentford, along with a defeat to Manchester United, have all impacted the north London side, with the title race now firmly on.
With a tough run-in ahead, which includes a London derby with rivals Chelsea, it'll be time for many key Arsenal players to stand up and be counted. That will also depend on how they are managed by Arteta, with some stars needing trust to get onto the pitch to make an impact.
Two of those are summer signings Eze and Gyokeres, who have both had bright moments, but are looking for some consistency in their performances. Merson believes that the pair benefit from being alongside each other, as he said on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday: "Yeah, he put Saka in there against Wolves. It's a hard position to play, the ten.
"You don't just put someone in there and go 'oh you do what you want and make something happen'. You've got to find pockets and Eze is very good at that. I think that's what he was bought for, to get in there those little pockets; if you get him on the ball he can turn, he's elegant, he goes past people like they're not there.
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"That game [North London Derby] was perfect for Arteta - they win the game 4-1 and Gyokeres gets two goals and Eze scores two. I mean, if you could pick two players to get the goals, those would be it. If these two hit fire until the end of the season, Arsenal win the league. If they can go and be 8/10 every week.
"Because we said at the start, when Eze got bought: he was the X-factor and going to be the one who got them over the line, I still think that's the case as long as he plays and Arteta trusts him."
Merson then questioned if the manager truly trusts the pair, as he continued: "No, I don't think he does a lot of people. I think Arteta plays on sparks where he'll watch someone do something wrong and 'oh you're out of the team'.
"We saw it with Calafiori not too long ago; he had a nightmare game, gets ripped off, don't play again. Eze gets caught on the far post against Cash at Villa, don't really play again. You've got to give them a chance, trust in them more, these players, I don't think he does that enough in my opinion."
It remains to be seen just how much faith Arteta will place in Eze and Gyokeres, who will be hopeful that their performances in the North London Derby can power them on to new heights. For Eze, the clash was another display of his ability to arrive at the right time to add a finishing touch to a move.
Given his hat-trick against Tottenham in the reverse fixture, it's clear that he is capable of coming up with a big moment. The question now is whether he can do it again and again when it really matters in the Premier League title race, with every point now key to their challenge at the top.
As for Gyokeres, many have said that his display against Spurs was his best yet in an Arsenal shirt. Not only were there goals to rave about, but the all-round link-up play left many delighted with the Swedish international, hopeful that he can now replicate that performance moving forward.
"Well, I think one thing leads to another," the manager said on Gyokeres' form. "When you score the first one, or the performance is good, you have more time with your teammates, you understand the games, the opponents, the league better, everything helps.
"We know his qualities, he’s undoubtedly an incredible striker. We need to feed into his quality, we need to understand him better, he needs to understand the team and the league better, and I think we are on the right trajectory."
If that trajectory is right for the summer arrivals, then they will help drag Arsenal toward the finish line this season.
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