Eberechi Eze Has One Goal in Nine Games and Arsenal Questions Grow

• Eberechi Eze has scored one goal in nine appearances in all competitions for Arsenal.
• Eze was replaced at half-time in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, his first Premier League start of the season, after nine passes and 22 touches.
• Former Arsenal and England defender Matt Upson says Eze must work out exactly what his role is if he wants to start more matches.

Matt Upson Explains Where It Is Going Wrong for Eze at Arsenal

Eberechi Eze has spent his career being cheered for what he does with the ball. The Arsenal forward is known for off-the-cuff skill, a maverick streak and an entertaining style. Lately, those qualities have been missing.

Sunday’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest was his first Premier League start of the season. He was replaced at half-time, having completed nine passes and 22 touches of the ball. Many supporters now question whether he can reproduce the performances that made his name.

Not the first time his role has been questioned

The scrutiny follows a pattern. Eze switched off when Matty Cash scored Aston Villa’s opener in a 2-1 defeat in December 2025, then started the next game and was left on the bench for four league matches after that. The 28-year-old is a much-loved character in both the Arsenal and England squads, yet even England manager Thomas Tuchel said in the last international break that Eze was “coming back to his true shape and form” in training, a hint that he has not been at his best.

The spotlight is brighter now as Arsenal failed to land a new top-level attacker in the transfer window. They were heavily interested in Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr and Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez. Instead they signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, and the Greek international was Mikel Arteta’s first-choice winger until a hamstring injury on international duty. That opened a door for Eze, who scored on a start at left wing against Lille in the Champions League but could not follow it up against Forest.

Upson: finding his role has been challenging

Former Arsenal and England defender Matt Upson said Eze’s struggle is about position and clarity. “I think that finding his role and position has been challenging,” Upson said. “And when you come to a club with the stature and the quality of Arsenal, if you’re not showing that you’re nailing down a certain role, I think it’s very very hard to maintain a position in the team.”

Upson does not think the left side suits him. “He doesn’t play like a wide player for me and I think just knowing your role when you’re at a club like Arsenal is so important,” he said. At Crystal Palace, Eze shone from the left, then played a narrower number 10 role in his final two seasons. At Arsenal, captain Martin Odegaard is the first choice in that position, and Arteta is unlikely to start the pair regularly with the options he has in the middle of the pitch.

Upson called the next stage “almost a process” and said Eze has had to adjust to the intensity of a big club and a manager that “they don’t come more intense than really”.

What the numbers say

The stats push back on the idea that Eze gets too few minutes. Arsenal played 63 matches last season and he started 36 of them, or 57%. From his debut in August 2025 he has started 40 of 72 games, or 56%. His 11 goals in 61 appearances came in just eight games.

Those eight games include some huge ones. Eze scored five against Tottenham across two Premier League matches, including a hat-trick at home, and he scored winners against Newcastle and his former club Palace on the way to the title. At Palace he also scored the winner in the 2025 FA Cup final against Manchester City.

There is encouragement in the early numbers, too. His per-90 figures this season are higher than last season for assists (0.25), goals and assists combined (0.50), shots on target (0.74), dribbles completed (1.98) and touches in the opposition box (5.95). The sample is small, but the direction is up.

Arteta wants more from everyone

Arteta did not single Eze out. “We have some really good players and the expectations are so big for all of them,” he said. “And we want more from everybody. That is the mindset.”

Arsenal face Bayern Munich in the Champions League at 8pm UK time on Wednesday. With Tzolis out, the left side is open, and Eze has another chance to show which version of himself turns up.