Roy Keane fires clear warning to Eberechi Eze after Arsenal transfer

Roy Keane has warned Eberechi Eze that "okay" performances won't suffice now he's competing at the top level. The former Manchester United captain believes Eze must raise his standards following his £67.5million switch to Arsenal this summer.

The playmaker secured his dream transfer to boyhood club Arsenal last month after stellar displays for Crystal Palace. He became the priciest acquisition in an ambitious summer window at Arsenal, who splashed a total of £260million on fresh talent.

Expectations will weigh heavily on his shoulders in Mikel Arteta's squad, and Eze faced similar pressure with England on Saturday, reports the Mirror. The Three Lions struggled to a 2-0 victory over Andorra at Villa Park in a lacklustre display that saw Eze fall short.

The 27-year-old saw two attempts saved by the Andorra goalkeeper and blazed another good chance over the crossbar. Having been handed the No. 10 jersey and freedom against modest opposition, he might have felt frustrated not to hit the target.

"In some instances he stayed still and got on the ball, he had that opportunity in the first half where he did that and took the shot," Ian Wright said on ITV. "He'll be disappointed he didn't do better with that, but as long as he is staying in that area, I am really happy."

But Keane had a characteristically unforgiving perspective on the matter. He responded: "The worry for me when we talk about players like this... I think he done okay. But the manager will be saying 'okay is not good enough. We need to be setting higher standards than that'."

Thomas Tuchel appeared to share the former Manchester United skipper's view when he delivered his verdict on the display. "We missed the little moments to accelerate the game," the England manager said.

"Maybe Ebs didn't have his very best day in the number 10 position. He trained so well in the decision making but struggled a little bit. The last pass from Noni [Madueke] was not clinical enough, [Marcus] Rashford had some good moments but was not clinical and couldn't finish them. We should have scored the second goal earlier."

England broke the deadlock when Madueke's delivery was deflected into his own net by Christian Garcia in the 25th minute. However, they had to wait until the second period's midpoint to extend their advantage, with Declan Rice nodding home Reece James' deep delivery.

Newcomer Elliot Anderson wasted the second half's clearest opportunity when the keeper thwarted him following Harry Kane's square ball that arrived fractionally behind him. Tuchel will be demanding an improved showing when England face Serbia in another World Cup qualifier on Tuesday in Belgrade.

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