Eberechi Eze at Arsenal: Why the £67.5m man is struggling under Arteta

Arsenal dropping points at Brentford on Thursday was not just another frustrating draw in what has been a challenging year for the Gunners. The 1-1 stalemate at the GTech Community Stadium highlighted the struggles of Eberechi Eze from central midfield.

In that match, the England international lasted just 45 minutes before coach Mikel Arteta hooked him for Martin Ødegaard. His number from the first half is everything you need to know about how bad it went.

The 27-year-old made 17 touches, completed nine of 11 passes, created no chances, and took no shots.

Eze has not scored or assisted in any competition since his hat-trick against Tottenham in late November. For a player who cost £67.5 million and was seen as one of the missing pieces in Arsenal’s title challenge, this is just wrong.

Following the match, former England striker Peter Crouch, for example, did not hold back. Speaking on TNT Sports, he called Eze “a bit of a passenger” in the Arsenal team.

But what really is the problem with the London-born winger?

A failing midfield experiment

The Gunners have been left frustrated with what they see as a doomed tactical experiment. Eze looks lost when asked to play from the middle, especially when the game requires physicality and defensive awareness.

Arteta has continued to use Eze on the right as a number eight, and there are good reasons why that does not suit the player’s natural game.

At Crystal Palace, Eze played as the left-sided attacker in Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1. Even when he started as an attacking midfielder at Palace, his runs with the ball were from the left. That was how he cut inside and influenced the game. At Arsenal, the demands are different.

Mikel Arteta’s team sets up in a somewhat 3-2 shape, with the left-back (usually Calafiori) moving inside to pack the midfield. That leaves Eze little space to operate on the wing, where he likes to carry the ball.

The team’s left-backs either become center-midfielders in possession or do not push to the byline. Eze’s natural game is when he drifts to the left, cuts inside, and creates from those half-spaces. This clashes with Arsenal’s structure.

If the structure does not change, it is hard to imagine Eze doing well in an Arsenal shirt.

One problem, though, is whatever structure Arsenal has now is what Arteta has laboured to build for the past five years.

At Crystal Palace, Eze was at the centre of everything. In 2024-25, he set career highs with 16 goal contributions in the Premier League. Transfermarkt reveals he had eight goals and eight assists.

Even when he had to deal with injuries in 2023-24, he still managed 11 goals and four assists in 31 matches.

The numbers reveal Eze created 40 chances after carrying the ball five meters or more, a record no Arsenal player bettered last season. Sky Sports also confirms that only four attacking players completed more take-ons than Eze in the Premier League, with a success rate just over 50%.

Playing on the left for Crystal Palace that often enjoyed a lot of room to break and play in transition, is different from what he meets in an Arsenal team that dominates possession against deep-lying defenses. At Palace, Eze was free to roam, drive at defenders, and create magic moments without the positional responsibilities Arteta demands.

The solution Arsenal refuse to commit to

Eze’s best position has always been a free-roaming left winger. When he plays on the left with Calafiori or Hincapié providing an overlap, he is at his peak.

The issue is rather obvious. Eze is a ‘moments’ player who can break games open. When he gets the ball on his right foot within range of goal, he is one of Arsenal’s cleanest strikers.

Much like Ben White allows Bukayo Saka to, when playing at the same time, the left-winger needs an overlap from their fullback to allow them to cut inside.

In last year’s 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa, Eze was deployed on the left wing and failed to track Matty Cash, resulting in Villa’s opening goal. He looked uncomfortable in wide areas, lacking the influence and control he usually provides centrally.

Eze has started only three league matches since the beginning of December and has come off at halftime in two of those. The Brentford match was his first league start in two months.

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Eze’s place in the England squad feels at risk. There has not been an international window since this dip in club form, and whether Thomas Tuchel retains him for upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan will be a big indicator of his World Cup chances.

Like Kalvin Phillips or Jack Grealish in Manchester City, Arsenal’s £67.5 million investment is in danger of becoming one of the more expensive misfits in recent Premier League history unless Arteta can find a tactical solution that liberates Eze’s talents without compromising Arsenal’s structure.