Paul Merson Says Eberechi Eze Cannot Be a Free Spirit at Arsenal

• Paul Merson says Eberechi Eze cannot play as a free spirit at Arsenal, where “you’ve got to perform” within a shape.
• Eze was substituted at half-time in the narrow win at Nottingham Forest and has 11 goals in 61 appearances for Arsenal.
• Merson does not think Arsenal can beat Bayern Munich on Wednesday: “X factor is what wins a Champions League and I don’t see that at Arsenal.”

Merson Sees an Arsenal Side Scared of Its Own Defeat

Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest, and Paul Merson came away worried. The Sky Sports columnist watched a team with plenty of possession that never looked like scoring, and he wrote that he was “blown away” watching the performance. “It’s unbelievable how you can have that much of the ball and not look like scoring,” Merson said.

His explanation is the defeat at Brighton. Arsenal won the league and then came out playing entertaining football, in Merson’s telling, until that result landed. “The defeat to Brighton has scared Arsenal,” he wrote. He says they have gone back to being a tight unit that will not concede and will find one chance to score, which is what they did at Forest.

Why Merson Thinks Eze Is Struggling

The sharpest part of the column is about Eberechi Eze. Arsenal substituted him at half-time at Forest, and Merson argues the problem is the move from one kind of club to another. He says the same display for Crystal Palace would have kept Eze on the pitch.

At Palace, Merson says, the team talk is to give the ball to Eze and work from there. At Arsenal he sees four other options in Bruno, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice. Eze might touch the ball 25 or 30 times in a game at Arsenal, Merson says, against about 100 times at Palace, so he has to make things happen in far fewer moments.

“You’ve got to perform at Arsenal,” Merson said. “You’ve got to play in a shape. You can’t just play your own game. You can’t be a free spirit at big clubs anymore.” Eze has scored 11 goals in 61 appearances for Arsenal.

Merson went back to a game at Aston Villa last season. In his version, Eze fell asleep at the far post, Matty Cash scored, and Eze was substituted at half-time. He then started only one league game in the next two months. “The lad can play. He’s a lovely player, but I don’t know if he’ll be lovely for Arsenal,” Merson said. He believes the bench is so strong that taking Eze off is easy for the manager.

Bayern Munich Will Show Where Arsenal Really Stand

Arsenal face Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Merson cannot see them winning. His advice to the German side is to open the game up and trade shots, as “there’ll only be one winner”. He questions whether Arsenal can outscore opponents and whether Kai Havertz gives centre-halves a sleepless night. He does not see Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres as the difference-maker.

“X factor is what wins a Champions League and I don’t see that at Arsenal,” Merson wrote. He says other teams have seen the blueprint for facing them, which is to sit back and defend. In his view, the wingers do not go past anybody, nobody runs beyond the ball, and the ball is not held up. He called the match a marker for where Arsenal are in Europe.

Still Backing Arsenal for the League

Merson is not writing Arsenal off in the Premier League. He still sees them winning it, as he feels they need only one goal to win a game. He compares that with Manchester City, who he feels need two goals every time. He also made a call on selection: “Bruno Guimaraes has got to play in every game. He’s the one who can pass the ball.”

Arsenal still have plenty to sort out. Against Forest they collected the points and drew criticism in the same afternoon. Merson sums up the standard in one line: “They can win at Forest and they’ll still get criticised by people like me. That’s the difference.”

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

More articles by Jarrod →