Eberechi Eze’s stance on Arsenal exit revealed after latest
Eberechi Eze is content at Arsenal and wants to stay at the club despite lingering concerns over his form, sources have told Football Insider.
Eze has failed to hit the previous heights he found at Crystal Palace during his time at Arsenal so far.
The England playmaker has started just one of the Gunners' first seven league games of the campaign amid internal worries around his performances under Mikel Arteta.
He was hooked off at half-time during that sole start, away to Nottingham Forest last weekend, but has found better form in the Champions League.
Eze opened the scoring against Bayern Munich in midweek, and as I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider's Transfer Insider podcast, he still feels he has much more to give as an Arsenal player.
He is not concerned about his playing time so far this season and his latest performance against the German champions will only further his case for increased minutes going forward.
Eberechi Eze is still happy at Arsenal despite recent struggles
Eze registered 15 goal contributions in 52 appearances for Arsenal last season after notching 26 in 43 games in his final campaign at Palace.
He is struggling to display the same individuality under Arteta in the Gunners' unstoppable machine of a team.
Eze remains keen to stay at Arsenal, despite sources previously telling Football Insider that insiders are concerned about his overall performances.
Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: "He had a disappointing game against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. That's why he was taken off at half-time, but he wasn't the only one to struggle in that game.
"Before that, he started against Lille in the Champions League and scored, then came off the bench against Bayern Munich in midweek to replace the injured Bukayo Saka and scored as well. The player is happy there."
Paul Merson unsure if Eze will be a success at Arsenal
Eze has already played his part in a historic title success for Arsenal, but he still clearly has a lot more to give after shining to a different level at Selhurst Park.
Former Gunners star Merson wants to see him do well, but admitted last week on Sky Sports that he is unsure if the 28-year-old will ever reach similar heights in North London.
He said: "I’ve played for big teams and I’ve played for teams that weren’t big – it’s a different game. Eberechi Eze is a prime example. It’s so, so different. He was substituted at half-time against Forest, but if he played like that for Crystal Palace, he would still be on the pitch. You’ve got to perform at Arsenal. 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.
“At Palace, the team talk is ‘give the ball to Eze, everything goes through him and then we’ll work from there’. You go to Arsenal, there are four of them. Give the ball to Bruno. Give the ball to Bukayo Saka. Give the ball to Martin Odegaard. Give the ball to Declan Rice. The lad can play. He’s a lovely player, but I don’t know if he’ll be lovely for Arsenal. I don’t know if he’ll get the chance because as soon as he doesn’t do well, he’s off. Arsenal have too many players on the bench, so it’s easy to take him off.”