Assessing how good Eberechi Eze ACTUALLY was after first Premier League goal for Arsenal | OneFootball

Eberechi Eze returned to haunt his former club as Arsenal secured a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Eze enjoyed five seasons at Selhurst Park, making 169 appearances in all competitions while helping the club win the FA Cup and the Community Shield.

He completed a £67.5million move to Arsenal in the summer but managed just one goal – during a Carabao Cup win at Port Vale – across his first 10 outings for the Gunners.

Without captain Martin Odegaard, Eze started as a No.10 against his former club and stepped up to score his first Premier League goal for the club.

“It’s a good day, I’m happy to score and that’s how I want to help the team,” he said after the game. “It’s a bit of a mixed day. 100 per cent per cent Crystal Palace are a difficult team to play against. You can see why teams struggle against them.

“When it went in [the goal] I wanted to thank God and Jesus but I also wanted to be respectful [with the celebrations]. It was a weird finish. I’m learning a lot here about staying alive from set pieces.”

We’ve taken a detailed look at his performance in the 1-0 win against Palace.

His impact

After the Palace defence failed to deal with Declan Rice’s free-kick in the latter stages of the first half, Eze expertly volleyed the ball past Dean Henderson and into the corner.

His scissor kick was the one true piece of real quality in a poor game at the Emirates and it’s an example of the “magic moments” Arteta mentioned after securing his signature in the summer.

“Yes, 100%,” Arteta said after the final whistle. “To strike the ball in the manner he did it. He did it very similarly last year but against us when he scored from that corner and directly on the post.

“So he’s got the ability to do that. We know against a team that defend with that many bodies, so physical, don’t allow any space, the No. 9 defending your best player, you have to generate chaos or open space at some moments to generate big chances. He took the ball and the goal really well.

“That’s what big players do and he’s certainly a big player and hopefully that’s going to give him a big boost and confidence to generate many more moments like this, because they are the moments that sometimes defines a season.”

Aside from the goal, the most impressive element of Eze’s performance against Palace was actually his defensive contributions.

The 27-year-old made two tackles, one block and one recovery to help his side. He also won four of his five ground duels, with Jurrien Timber (6) and Saka (5) the only Arsenal players to win more than their No.10.

On the ball, he had 39 touches in the game, completed 22 of his 29 passes (79%) and wasn’t dispossessed by any of his former Palace teammates.

The England international was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly in the 88th minute and came off to a standing ovation inside the Emirates.

Room for improvement?

While Eze’s goal did prove to be the match-winner, the attacking midfielder didn’t have a constant influence on proceedings and was rather quiet at times.

His goal in the 39th minute was his only shot on target and it was also his only touch in the opposition box.

The 27-year-old wasn’t able to create any chances for his Arsenal teammates during his 88 minutes on the pitch and only completed one successful dribble.

But he will hope that his first Premier League goal of the season will now help him build momentum and produce his best form in an Arsenal shirt.

Fan reaction

A number of Arsenal fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reacted to Eze’s display.

One fan posted: “Eze is a maverick for a reason. Arsenal fans need to learn that these players who want to influence games will have poor moments… but are capable of game breaking actions.

“We’ve missed a player like Eze for years. Don’t criticise him, appreciate him.”

Another said: “Eze brilliant BTL [between the lines] today, if anything our pivot didn’t/couldn’t platform him enough today. The game today was tailored for him to succeed.”

But somebody else posted: “We really really need Odegaard in that midfield. Eze is too passive both on and off the ball.”