Eberechi Eze's stats vs Nottingham Forest make for grim reading, his Arsenal future now in doubt

Eberechi Eze undoubtedly fell behind in the pecking order as Arsenal narrowly beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Sunday.

The 28-year-old started on the left of the Gunners' attack at the City Ground but was substituted at half-time, with his replacement - Noni Madueke - subsequently scoring the winner.

The England international had earned the chance after impressing in midweek against Lille in the Champions League, but will now have to bide his time for the next one and could face a long spell on the sidelines.

Eze and Madueke are currently Mikel Arteta's only options on the left of the attack, with first-choice Christos Tzolis currently ruled out with an injury suffered while on international duty.

Arsenal had hoped to sign another left-winger before the transfer window closed, and failed with efforts to attract the likes of Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez.

It remains to be seen whether efforts will be made in January to reinforce, as Arteta's team attempt to retain the Premier League title.

Eberechi Eze wastes golden chance

In fairness to Eze, he was not handed an easy task on the left against Nottingham Forest's deep defence.

The former Crystal Palace man was met by at least two defenders every time he touched the ball, struggling to find any space at all.

He got past his man once, early in the game, and that moment should have filled him with encouragement.

Yet the rest of Eze's half was spent strolling around, playing short passes inside when he did receive the ball and rarely moving without it.

The England international would not create a chance or take a single shot throughout his 45 minutes on the pitch - a damning indictment on his display.

But there was more. Of his 13 attempted passes, he misplaced four and was dispossessed twice, losing four duels.

Perhaps worst of all, in Arteta's eyes, is the fact that Eze did not complete a single defensive contribution in his time on the pitch.

How Noni Madueke won the battle

Madueke's display off the bench was not perfect. The winger failed to win a single duel and did not make any defensive contributions.

Yet he tried to make things happen. The 24-year-old floated six crosses into the box, with only one of them finding its mark.

He took two shots, and it was the second of them that earned its sizable deflection and flew into the back of the Nottingham Forest net.

Madueke will keep his place against Bayern Munich and potentially Everton, too, and rightly so.