Former Liverpool and England striker, Peter Crouch, has stated that Eberechi Eze is not having a big impact on the Arsenal team.
This was after Arsenal lost points in the Premier League title race by drawing 1-1 with Brentford, it was also a really frustrating night for Eze.
After a slow and scoreless first half, Noni Madueke scored for the league leaders just before the hour mark with a header from Piero Hincapie’s cross.
An away victory would have brought Arsenal back to a six-point advantage over their title competitors, Manchester City.
However, Brentford showed great teamwork and came back after falling behind, eventually drawing the game with a goal from Keane Lewis-Potter.
Both teams had opportunities to win the match – Brentford maybe getting closest to scoring the winning goal – but the exciting London derby finished with both sides drawing.
The situation was especially frustrating for Arsenal’s new player Eze, who was taken out of the game at halftime after not making a strong impact in the first half.
So far, Eze has only scored four goals in the league, and three of those were all in a single match against Tottenham who wanted to sign him before Arsenal hijacked the deal.
Eze has actually not scored a goal since his hat-trick in the North London derby back in late November, and he has not found the net in 16 games across all competitions.
Eze has been playing less recently, so he usually comes on as a substitute, but he started in Thursday’s London derby against Brentford.
Arteta took Eze off at halftime and brought in Arsenal’s captain, Martin Odegaard, to replace him.
Asked if he understood Arteta’s decision to make a halftime change, former England striker, Crouch said on TNT Sports, “Yeah, Eze wasn’t able to get the ball or make the play work, he wasn’t able to make things happen.
“Defensively, he’s probably not as good as Martin Odegaard, because he doesn’t move around the field as quickly.
“It’s sad for Eze because he hasn’t played in many games and hasn’t made much of an impact yet.”
When asked about Eze’s slow start at Arsenal after the match, Crouch said, “He got a chance to play today, but he just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t get on the ball. I felt for him because he couldn’t get onto the ball and he doesn’t provide the same kind of pressing and playmaking that Odegaard does when he’s not touching the ball.
“He was kind of a passenger, to be honest. We called it a half hour because he was supposed to come off, but for some reason, Arteta doesn’t really like him right now.”
The draw means that Arsenal are now just four points ahead of Manchester City who strongly believe they can still come from behind to claim the Premier League title this season.