Welcome to The Radar. Nick Wright’s Sky Sports column combines data and opinion to highlight must-know stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League. this week:
🔺 Examining Eze’s struggles at Arsenal
❓ Role changes that may be helpful
🔍 Players to watch this weekend
Arteta’s Eze conundrum
Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Spurs in November felt like the start of something special at the time. Mikel Arteta praised the “joy” and “aura” he added. Eze said his prayers were answered. Fans may have felt the same way.
But three months later, as Arsenal prepare to face the same opponents, the club he so nearly joined before moving to the Emirates Stadium in August, he remains a conundrum for the manager, his role undefined and his plight emblematic of Arsenal’s problems.
His FA Cup victory over Wigan was a reminder of his ability to change the course of a game, even against a lower-ranked opponent. Eze took risks, won the ball, surprised him with passes and fired shots into the opponent’s goal. “That’s what we want from him,” Arteta said.
However, three days later he returned as a substitute against Wolves. Eze has started just one of Arsenal’s last 11 Premier League games and appears to be struggling to win the trust of a manager who finds it difficult to balance control and creativity.
Arsenal don’t have enough of either at the moment.
During that time, Eze moved from place to place.
Bukayo Saka was one of Arsenal’s best players during his time at Molineux. However, playing as No. 10 instead of on the right wing came at the expense of Eze. Paul Merson told Sky Sports: “If I were Eze, I would think: ‘Am I going to play a lot of games for Arsenal this season?’
Of course, Eze is not exempt from responsibility. Last week, in a 1-1 draw with Brentford, he was handed a rare starting role and was substituted at half-time, but he did not perform well. He struggled to find consistency even when he became a regular starter in the first few months of the season.
But with Arsenal’s season on the decline, finding a way to get Eze back to the level of the £67.5m superstar who crushed Spurs in the autumn should be a priority. And what better place to start than the ground where he has scored three times in his last two visits?
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Watch Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick in the last meeting between Arsenal and Spurs
Eze, who has scored six goals in a total of eight games against Spurs, actually counts them as one of his favorite opponents.
What was most impressive about his hat trick against them was how often he was able to get into scoring position. His goal came from a total of six shots, the most of any player. He recorded seven touches, the most in the opponent’s box.
Arsenal were without injured trio Victor Gokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, but Merino led the way. However, his role was far removed from that of a traditional striker. Instead, he dropped into midfield, creating space for Eze to attack.
This rotation enabled Arsenal to produce a fluid performance, which they repeated three days later when they beat Bayern Munich. Once again, the combination of Eze and Merino worked wonders. All but one of Arsenal’s seven goals in the two games came from open play.
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Mikel Arteta explains decision to send off Eberechi Eze at half-time against Brentford
Arsenal were unconvincing in their subsequent 1-1 draw with a 10-man Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, looking tired after an intense week. Then, as Arsenal’s injuries eased and players returned, the partnership between Eze and Merino quietly dissolved.
Of course, Merino is no longer an option due to injury and Eze has struggled to build chemistry with Arsenal’s other strikers so far.
He and Gokeres did not exchange a single pass against Brentford. He and Jesus only exchanged two passes against Wolves. He didn’t even have a chance to start with Havertz up front.
Partnerships are important. But the other big problem is that Eze doesn’t have the ball enough. Arsenal averaged 58% possession last season, compared to Crystal Palace’s 42%, but the number of touches they took was significantly reduced and their influence diminished.
Of course, Eze needs to demand that.
Most recently against Brentford, he attempted just 17 passes before being sent off, and at times he looked inhibited, lacking the confidence to take charge and express himself as freely as he did at former club Crystal Palace.
Things are very different at Arsenal, where Arteta is very focused on control. Eze has to adapt to a completely different style of play on and off the ball, as well as an opponent who generally sits deep and squeezes space in the final third.
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The Sunday Times’ chief football correspondent Jonathan Norcroft analyzes Eberechi Eze’s form.
With less space to work with near the opponent’s box, Eze frequently found himself dropping into areas far from goal, where it was difficult to injure the opponent.
GeniusIQ tracking data, which records whether a player is available to receive a pass, shows that Eze’s availability between the lines has fallen from 40 per cent at Crystal Palace last season to just 26 per cent at Arsenal this season.
In fact, Eze has more space available on average than Crystal Palace. However, this is because too often he is not inside the opponent’s block, but on the outside, facing not one, but several defenders, and his path to the goal is blocked.
You may find a solution if you change your perspective.
Eze primarily features as a No. 10 on the right for Arsenal, but playing to the left of the front three and having the license to flow inside could give him more opportunities to receive the ball in the left half-space where he thrived at Crystal Palace.
Eberechi Eze has moved away from his best position at Arsenal this season
Eze has not featured since December, when a defensive error allowed Matty Cash to score in the 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Eze had played 67 per cent of Arsenal’s Premier League minutes up until this game. Since then, he has only played 20 percent.
In other words, this was a turning point for a manager who wanted unwavering defensive stability from his offensive line. Eze’s mistake at Villa Park wasn’t the only reason he looked so inconsistent off the ball early in the season.
But overall, Eze has increased their efforts out of possession.
Returning to GeniusIQ’s tracking data, we can see a significant increase in the speed and intensity with which we track transitions compared to previous seasons. He has adapted.
There is no doubt that Eze finds it difficult to make the step up to Arsenal. Some might argue that that’s too much. But his exploits at Crystal Palace have seen him rank among the top 20 players in the Premier League for goals and assists, and Arsenal have had a fleeting glimpse of him.
Trusting him to unleash his full potential and rediscover the joy and aura that characterized his last performance against Spurs could be the key to Arsenal’s title push.
Player Radar: Other Players to Watch
Before Arsenal face Spurs on Sunday, Vitor Pereira will be hoping for a winning start in the Premier League against Liverpool at Nottingham Forest. The appointment of Morgan Gibbs-White is a big part of his plans to turn the season around, following Thursday’s Europa League win over Fenerbahce.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
West Ham vs Bournemouth will be Saturday Night Football, broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm, with kick-off at 5.30pm.
Watch Crystal Palace v Wolves, Nottingham Forest v Liverpool and Sunderland v Fulham on Sky Sports from 1pm on Sunday, kick-off at 2pm, then watch Spurs v Arsenal at 4.30pm.
On Monday Night Football, the David Moyes derby between Everton and Manchester United will be broadcast live from 6.30pm, ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Read last week’s Radar column
In my last column, I looked at Brighton’s struggles this season, before the defeat to Crystal Palace put further pressure on Fabian Hürzeler.
