Arteta accused of ‘mismanaging’ Arsenal star as Redknapp hails two Gunners stars in Spurs win | OneFootball

Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp thinks Mikel Arteta “has mismanaged” Arsenal star Eberechi Eze since signing him in the summer.

Eze scored a brace as Arsenal beat arch-rivals Tottenham 4-1 in the North London Derby on Sunday with Viktor Gyokeres scoring the other two goals for Arteta’s side.

Arsenal are now back to five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand, with the Premier League title race looking likely to head down to the wire.

Eze started on the bench as the Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw against Wolves in midweek with the England international making just 13 Premier League starts this term.

Speaking before the North London Derby, Redknapp accused Arteta of mismanaging the £62.5m summer signing from Crystal Palace.

Redknapp said on Sky Sports: “Eberechi Eze made a mistake against Aston Villa at one point and came out of the team a bit after that,’ Redknapp said before Sunday’s derby.

“But I do think the manager has mismanaged him. He’s a player who needs confidence, we saw that at Crystal Palace where he was great.”

After the match, Redknapp added: “They were magnificent today. You just felt there was control about this Arsenal side.

“It was a complete mismatch. They were in different leagues, Arsenal were so classy. They were so much better than Tottenham, it was like two different leagues.

“If Tottenham aren’t careful, they might be in a different league. They cannot keep performing like this.

“Gyokeres led the line brilliantly, Eze was wonderful. It was a brilliant performance. Arsenal were fantastic, far too good for Tottenham.”

Arsenal attacker Eze was pleased with their display against Tottenham, he said: “We played with dominance today. We played with confidence and just the connection that we had on the pitch.

“I think it was a special performance from us and something that we can continue to build on and something to work towards our goals.

“We know what these types of games are. We know the energy that the fans are bringing and how we need to be emotionally ready for the games as well.

“I think we’ve done so well with that and we took advantage of that for sure. These games are all about momentum and being in the moment.

“I’m just thankful to God for the opportunities that we took today. We worked so hard, we gave everything and when we perform like this it motivates us.”