Arsenal of England dazzler, Eberechi Eze might end up with a bench role in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final, as football analysts reckon The Gunners would need ‘steel rather skill’ in their bid to stop PSG of France.
Sports247 reports that, while Eze has been in sparkling form for Arsenal in his debut season after arriving from Crystal Palace last summer, his eye for goal and burst through midfield are not considered good enough for Saturday’s final.
Rather than pick Eze to start, a cross-section of football buff who served previews of the game billed for 5pm in Budapest, Hungary settled for a midfield combination of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The verdict is that Arsenal will need a marker, rather than a playmaker, to block the expected exploits of PSG’s biggest threat, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has been the star of this season’s run to the final for the UCL title holders.
Dramatically, Eze’s name is also missing among all three options upfront, as the slots go for Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres, with Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta set to make decisions that decide their fate at Puskas Arena.
A report by UK’s Mirror tabloid noted in part, “Martin Odegaard is captain and will surely lead the team but it is all about the third member of the midfield. Declan Rice has played a staggering 4,336 minutes of football this season.
“That is the most of any outfield player in the two line-ups – but he is Arsenal’s Duracell bunny. Freshness may also be a factor as Lewis-Skelly is fresh and in form. Lewis-Skelly might actually be the players who gets the nod.
“Odegaard may get the nod and also if you look at the big European games, Arteta puts his trust in Leandro Trossard which means Eberechi Eze may be on the bench. The key is to stop PSG breaking and launching counter attacks from Arsenal’s own.”
