Arsenal’s Arteta praises Eze’s efforts behind the scenes

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Eberechi Eze for the contribution he is making without even playing at the moment.

The England international joined the Gunners from Crystal Palace in the summer and has so far contributed five goals and two assists, including a memorable hat-trick against Tottenham.

Yet Eze has had to make do with being an unused substitute in recent games, which raises understandable questions about the situation.

Arteta, however, made it clear he still rates Eze very highly, describing the 27-year-old’s “phenomenal” spirit behind the scenes in returning to the team.

Mikel Arteta praises Eberechi Eze for behind-the-scenes efforts

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s game against Liverpool, Arteta had nothing but positive things to say about Eze when asked about continuing to leave him on the bench.

The Spanish tactician clearly hasn’t given up on Eze yet, and fans will be delighted with what appears to be a great response from the player after missing his first few matches recently.

“Ebs has been exceptional when he has played and when he has not played – that is a great quality we have in the team,” Arteta said.

? Mikel Arteta has praised Eberechi Eze’s ‘phenomenal’ efforts behind the scenes! ?? pic.twitter.com/q028MtTH3G

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When asked to explain what he meant by Eze being exceptional when he’s not playing, Arteta explained: “Because his desire level increases.

“The way he trains every day, the way he wants to, the way he wants to do whatever it takes to change my mind.

“He was phenomenal and it’s not easy.

“I’m confident we’re going to see a great version of Ebs.”

Eberechi Eze struggles to overtake Martin Odegaard

See below for a good comparison of what Martin Odegaard offers at central level, which has surely made it more difficult for Eze to start games now that the Norway international is back from injury…

Of course, Eze can also offer quality, which could mean he still has a chance of starting alongside Odegaard, rather than competing with him.

However, we can also see from the graphic below that Leandro Trossard is having an exceptional season for Arsenal, and also offers more than Eze when starting wide…

Eze is undoubtedly an excellent player, as we saw at Crystal Palace, but it is unclear what his best position is and whether he truly meets the specific demands Arteta is looking for, whether centrally or out wide.

It will be interesting to see how this develops as the season goes on, but it seems Arteta still expects big things from Eze even though he hasn’t used him recently.