Mikel Arteta told to make huge Eberechi Eze change for Arsenal vs Man City

Mikel Arteta has been told to change Eberechi Eze’s position as the Arsenal boss attempts to ignite his Emirates Stadium career. The England wideman arrived at Gunners in the summer in a £67.5m move from Crystal Palace.

Arsenal had gazumped the attempts of their north London rivals Tottenham to swoop in and secure his services. However, Eze has so far had a stuttering start to life with his new club.

He is yet to get off the mark in front of goal for Arsenal, while he appeared to struggle on his Champions League debut vs Athletic Bilbao before being taken off 20 minutes before the end.

In assessing Eze’s start so far, former Premier League forward Peter Crouch has suggested that a rethink about his position could potentially get the best out of him. Speaking to Paddy Power, he said: “I like Eze as a more central midfielder personally.

“He's brilliant off the left but it would be nice if he came in. But listen, Declan Rice could always play in that number 8 role, striding forward and creating things.”

Crouch is not the only one to believe that a slight alteration to Eze’s position could see him kick off his Arsenal career. Former Gunner Martin Keown also had the idea after the win vs Bilbao.

He said: “There is the possibility that Eze could play as a midfield player… I’d start with Martinelli on the left and put Eze in midfield. I take out Merino because Eze is a player I want in the midfield.

“He (Arteta) has options now when he didn’t last season during the run-in. He was managing with one arm tied behind his back because he didn’t have the options. Now he’s got to find the right balance to beat Man City.”

Should Eze be moved more central, it would leave Arteta with a dilemma over who to deploy as his wingers vs Man City. Bukayo Saka is still restricted to the sidelines with an injury - Noni Madueke the natural replacement for him.

But there is a battle for the left wing, with both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard having found the net in the win in Spain. The Brazilian looks to be the automatic pick having also assisted Trossard for his goal.

Martinelli, however, has not managed to score in the Premier League since the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in May this year. The 24-year-old has only started two out of Arsenal’s four opening league games last term, having only been afforded a 12-minute cameo against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.