Arsenal attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze struck the winner against Newcastle but he was forced off early in the second-half due to injury
Eberechi Eze is optimistic he’s avoided injury – and is relishing the chance to take centre stage for Double-chasing Arsenal.
The 27-year-old playmaker, who also has his eyes firmly set on making England’s World Cup squad, hobbled off with a knock on Saturday after scoring a first-half fire-cracker against Newcastle.
Eze’s pinpoint curling strike was the latest instalment in his ever-growing catalogue of impressive goals and he’s determined to keep delivering big moments during the run-in to drive the Gunners over the line.
He said: “I think the type of player I am, when I’m in positions like that, I just try my best to create and be as effective as possible.
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“My job is to help the team score and create goals, so the more I’m in those positions, the more confident I am.
“It’s definitely something that I try to do, I try to take responsibility whenever I play football, for me, it’s part of it.”
The former Crystal Palace starlet has now hit the back of the net 41 times in the Premier League and remarkably, over half of those goals (21) have come in the final three months of the season.
He was signed to provide star quality for Arsenal and with a maximum of just seven matches left to play in all competitions, it’s impossible to ignore how different things could have looked for Eze this term.Instead of battling relegation with Tottenham, he has a salivating Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid on the horizon and the Premier League title remains firmly up for grabs.
The level-headed £67.5million summer arrival insists now is not the time for reflection as this season-defining stretch is what he has worked his whole life for.
He continued: “This is football at the highest level. I enjoy playing in the biggest moments, I try my best to be there in the biggest moments.
“This is what the team has been pushing and working for, now that we’re here you have an opportunity to give everything.
“It’s about everyone, everyone is in the team to do what they’re good at, we’ve all got different strengths and weaknesses so it’s about working hard to put yourself in a position to be the best version of ourselves.
“As time goes on, the players understand each other more, the boss understands us more and that’s how it goes, it’s about enjoying it as much as we can.”
Kai Havertz’s injury against Newcastle means it’s now been over two years (April 2024) since the German, captain Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka shared the pitch together in a 1-0 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich.
However, Eze’s selfless shift to the left flank is now paying dividends for Arsenal and it also means Arteta can now accommodate his three most-creative players in one effective system.
Eze continued: “It’s a different position but it’s more about occupying space and finding different outlets and different positions to hurt opponents. I try to enjoy my football wherever I am.
“It’s important to have creative people alongside each other and as you can see, with the collections that we have, it’s definitely helpful and I’m enjoying playing with players like Martin and Bukayo.”
He also clarified following his injury scare: “Yeah I’m okay, it was just precautionary.”
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