Arsenal came back with a bang this weekend
Mikel Arteta’s side appeared to have put their defeat to Liverpool well and truly behind them as they comfortably beat Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest 3-0.
There were brilliant performances across the pitch for the home side, with Noni Madueke continuing his form from the international break, Martin Zubimendi scoring a brace, and Viktor Gyokeres netting his third goal of the Premier League season.
While Eberechi Eze also impressed on his first start for the club, he did endure a slightly more unproductive night in the Champions League against Athletic Club.
Therefore, a slight tweak to Arteta’s side could get the best out of him.
Eze's superb showing against Forest
He may have made his official debut for Arsenal against Liverpool prior to the international break, but it was over the weekend that Arteta handed Eze his first start for the club, and boy did he repay him.
The England international was signed to bring an air of unpredictability and flair to the Gunners’ attack, and it took him all of five minutes to do just that, beating a defender and getting the crowd on their feet.
It was much of the same from that point on, as while he did not win every duel nor complete every dribble, the former Crystal Palace star was a constant threat on the left-hand side and ensured Forest couldn’t get a moment’s rest.
The Greenwich-born “magician,” as dubbed by Micah Richards, received his reward just a minute after the restart, drilling a ball across the penalty area for Gyokeres to smash into the net.
It was a truly brilliant performance from the Englishman, one that saw the Standard’s Sam Tabuteau award him an 8/10 match rating at full-time, which, based on his statistics, felt more than justified.
For example, in 79 minutes of action, he amassed a combined expected goals and assists figure of 0.50, provided one assist, completed three dribbles, took 43 touches, played one key pass, was accurate in 100% of his long balls, created one big chance, won two fouls and won 100% of his aerial duels.
It was the kind of showing that more than justifies the money Arsenal spent on him, although if Arteta wants to get even more out of him in the future after a subdued display in Europe on Tuesday, one change could be made.
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However, Arteta could make Eze even more unplayable by dropping the in-form Riccardo Calafiori, “Arsenal’s Player of the Season so far” in the words of one content creator. Instead, Arteta must look at unleashing new signing Piero Hincapié.
The £65k-per-week international completed his loan move with an option to buy at £45m to the club on deadline day and hasn’t been able to play from the start for them yet, but as his performances in the international break showed, he’s more than match fit.
Moreover, there is one part of his game that could make him the perfect partner for Eze on that left-hand side: his ability to overlap.
The Ecuadorian “beast,” as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, might not be as gung-ho as a Jeremie Frimpong, but he is undoubtedly excellent at bombing up and down the byline, so much so in fact that respected analyst Ben Mattinson described him as “a left-sided Ben White.”
Shots Blocked
0.63
Top 1%
Touches (Def Pen)
6.86
Top 1%
Touches (Def 3rd)
27.36
Top 1%
Progressive Passing Distance
362.56
Top 2%
Passes Completed (Medium)
27.99
Top 2%
Touches (Mid 3rd)
42.26
Top 2%
Total Passing Distance
1024.66
Top 3%
Pass Completion % (Short)
94.3%
Top 3%
Live-ball Passes
64.71
Top 3%
Passes Received
56.86
Top 3%
Aerials Won
2.29
Top 3%
Passes Completed
61.85
Top 4%
Carries
46.56
Top 4%
Progressive Carrying Distance
139.59
Top 4%
Touches
81.65
Top 5%
Total Carrying Distance
234.96
Top 5%
Pass Completion %
87.8%
Top 6%
Average Shot Distance
13.10
Top 7%
Passes into Final Third
5.12
Top 8%
% of Aerials Won
63.8%
Top 8%
You can see some elements of his desire and ability to maraud up the pitch in his underlying numbers, with FBref ranking in the top 2% of full-backs in Europe’s top-five leagues for progressive passing distance, the top 4% for progressive carrying distance and overall carries, the top 8% for passes into the final third, and more, all per 90.
With all that said, you may wonder why having an overlapping full-back would help maximise Eze’s potential.
Well, simply put, while the former Palace star can play at left-wing and looked great there on Saturday, he is someone who very much prefers to move into more central areas when he gets closer to goal, which we can see from his heat map last season.
Therefore, if Hincapié starts at left-back and is the one to provide width through his overlapping runs, Eze can move closer to the middle of the pitch and do what he does best.
Ultimately, we’ve not seen it yet, but this pairing could be the one that helps Arsenal’s left-hand side become as much of a threat as their right has been in years past.
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