Mikel Arteta has said Eberechi Eze’s “desire” to play at Arsenal has gone “even higher”, with the attacking midfielder not having been able to get into the team in recent weeks.
Eze, who joined the Gunners in the summer for a deal worth about £67m, has not played a minute in any of the past four Premier League matches, watching four important victories from the bench.
Eze’s lack of gametime has coincided with an upturn in form for captain Martin Odegaard, who has scored one goal and provided two assists in Arsenal’s past three games.
Odegaard and Eze play in a similar position but Arteta has said the latter has been “exceptional” in the way he has dealt with being out of the starting XI and praised his application in training.
“His level of desire has gone even higher,” Arteta said.
“The way he trains every day, the way he wants it and wants to do everything it takes to change my mind and give him more minutes, has been phenomenal.
“That is not easy. It is easy to expect it. But with the level of players we are talking about, that is not easy. I am very confident we are going to see a great version of Ebs in the coming months.”
The England international has played as a number 10, an advanced number eight and also from the left wing, and Arteta believes Eze can play in all of those roles.
“It depends on the relationships he has with the players around him and the type of game that we have to play,” said the Spaniard.
“It is true he has always been more shifted to the left, whether he has been wide or in that pocket of space, but he has had some great games with us playing on the right as well.
“He is that intelligent and that good as a footballer that he can occupy any space. I am more driven to decide where he plays in relation to the players around him than his position.”
Arsenal play nine games throughout January in the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and Carabao Cup, and it is likely Eze will get minutes to try to force his way back into the starting XI.
