Eberechi Eze has just 85 minutes in the Premier League so far this season, and the Englishman is struggling to secure a regular place in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad.
He hasn’t started a single game in the top flight in 2026/27 – his only starts have come in the UEFA Champions League win over Napoli and the Carabao Cup win against Ipswich Town.
Must lift his form many notches
The 28-year-old is unlikely to settle for becoming a cup rotation player, and he is eager to show that he has what it takes to become one of Arteta’s trusted starters.
So far this season, Arteta has opted for newcomer Christos Tzolis on the left wing, while a revived captain Martin Ødegaard has made the number 10 role his own. Both of these are Ezer’s preferred positions on the pitch and he may need to be patient until the two current holders lose their form.
Even when Arsenal were 3-0 down against Brighton & Hove Albion in their previous game, Eze only got 17 minutes off the bench. The game was long overdue, as the Seagulls scored his third goal of the day 16 minutes before he entered the pitch.
The extended three-week international break has given Eze some respite from domestic play and an opportunity to show off his skills for England – and perhaps prove a point to Arteta.
But so far, he has only proven Arteta right about his lack of playing time.
Eze did not come off the substitutes’ bench during the 3-2 loss to Spain in the opening match of the Nations League on Saturday, but was given minutes by Thomas Tuchel in Prague as the Three Lions won 2-0.
Against ten men after Pavel Sulc’s red card in the 25th minute, Eze was thrown into the game to try and turn up the tempo and secure England three points, with the score 0-0 at half-time. But even though the Three Lions eventually won the game, Ezer’s impact was minimal.
He scored 7.2, which is not particularly impressive.
Our playbook read: “With England outnumbered, Tuchel turned to Eze to find a way through the Czech Republic’s defence. But the creative playmaker didn’t make too much of an impression, even though he kept things tidy in midfield. Felt like a missed opportunity for him to make a mark on the game.”
Eze touched the ball 36 times in total, which is not bad for only 45 minutes on the pitch, and created two chances, with three passes into the final third. He got off two shots, one of them on goal, and touched the ball four times in the opponent’s box.
He ended up with an even lower rating than us from FotMob (6.5), where only Jude Bellingham and Morgan Gibbs-White got a lower rating from the Three Lions – and they only played 19 and 9 minutes respectively.
Eze has two more England games to try and change not only Tuchel’s outlook, but Arteta’s too – although he may struggle to get a starting spot after his performance against the Czech Republic.
