Mikel Arteta was standing above Eberechi Eze’s right shoulder with both hands up, but he was too preoccupied with seeing Viktor Gyokeres’ sprint ahead of him to notice.
When Eze got the ball just inside his own half, Arsenal was ahead 1-0 against Fulham.
Guys, relax. Avoid attempting anything too absurd. Remain in charge.
To recycle the ball and maintain possession, Eze may have knocked it backwards. He might have even made a small pass to Ben White right in front of him. However, Gyokeres was going to go behind the defensive line. It was impossible to resist it. Eze’s pass went to Gyokeres down the line, who held it up and knocked it inside for Bukayo Saka, who completed the score 2-0.
With a spot in the Champions League final up for grabs, Arteta could need a little more courage on Tuesday night when Arsenal takes on Atletico Madrid.
He has to make some crucial choices that will determine Arsenal’s season, that much is certain.
Despite Mikel Arteta’s advice for his team to play it safe, Eberechi Eze’s inventiveness was evident against Fulham when he substituted Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal’s second goal.
After some outstanding hold-up play by Gyokeres, Bukayo Saka scored. It is a huge boost for Arsenal to get their star winger returning from injury for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal matchup with Atletico Madrid.
EZE DOES IT
Eze is beginning to feel comfortable wearing his Arsenal shirt just when it counts most. In the first half of the season, the former Crystal Palace star struggled to live up to his £68 million price tag, but he is now settling into a groove.
Typical creator-in-chief Martin Odegaard was too wide and too deep to feed Gyokeres during the first leg. In the holding position, Declan Rice was frequently positioned between the center backs, although Odegaard also frequently dropped in, creating an excessive amount of space between Arsenal’s front line and midfield.
Just before the hour mark, Eze took his place. He was considerably more eager to take the ball forward and got on the ball higher and more central right away.
Check out the pass maps of both players from the 1-1 draw. Odegaard’s passing range makes it difficult to tell that Arsenal is attacking from left to right.
Normally Arsenal’s creator-in-chief, Martin Odegaard passed away too easily in the first leg in Madrid.
Eze’s performance at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano was more ambitious.
Even if it occasionally seems to go against his manager’s wishes, Eze wants to be brave with the ball, as he demonstrated in the build-up to Saka’s goal.
TWO’S COMPANY?
After his Liverpool team lost to Diego Simeone’s team, Jurgen Klopp became enraged with Atletico Madrid’s style of play since they were no longer the inflexible, defensive team they always were.
The Atletico manager recently said, “We attack better than we defend.” In the first leg, the Spanish team had more shots and possession than Arsenal.
They have scored the third most goals in the Champions League this season, but they have also shipped the second most, only surpassed by Qarabag of Azerbaijan.
Nevertheless, under pressure, they still like to drop into a back five, with Giuliano, Simeone’s son, joining the defensive line.
When they do that, Arteta will require players who have the skills and guts to look for the few available holes.
Gyokeres is also demonstrating his capacity to step up, but despite all of his runs, teammates frequently fail to recognise him. Despite his goal and assist against Fulham, goalkeeper David Raya had the joint-highest number of passes to him throughout the game (three).
In games, Viktor Gyokeres (second from left) scores numerous risky runs that his teammates find difficult to identify. Eze can assist with that.
He will be nourished by the two creative centers behind him and the dazzling Saka on the right.
Eze must be one of them, but it’s still unclear who plays with him. It would be foolish to move Eze to the left wing if Odegaard were to start. With only one goal and assist to his name throughout his time at Arsenal, he has struggled to make an impact.
Martin Zubimendi would probably have to sit out if Odegaard were to accompany him through the middle. Rice is too crucial in the deeper number six spot to miss the game.
But Odegaard wasn’t seen practicing before the match. But don’t panic, there’s another Arsenal starlet who might be the ideal fit.
MYLES IS BETTER!
Few players performed better against Fulham than Myles Lewis-Skelly if Arsenal needs a midfielder who can get through Atletico’s defence and have the rough-and-tumble to help Rice deal with the free-roaming Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.
The 19-year-old dominated the match in his first-ever midfield start. Arteta acknowledged that he had obviously delayed too long to provide him that opportunity. For the next one, how about Tuesday night?
In the group stage, Myles Lewis-Skelly excelled against Atletico, setting up Gabriel Martinelli’s goal with a signature driving run in a 4-0 victory.
In his debut midfield start for the team against Fulham, the 19-year-old demonstrated his ability.
In the first leg, Zubimendi played one of those advanced midfield positions and did pass the ball to Gyokeres to give Arsenal a penalty. However, the forward-thinking approach is not the Spaniard’s natural style, and he has struggled recently.
Lewis-Skelly performed admirably against Fulham. The Arsenal center backs have the most tackles, the second-most progressive carries, and third-most touches—more than Rice.
He had the most accuracy of any starter, completing 64 of his 66 throws. These passes weren’t just sides and backwards; they also split the line.
Lewis-Skelly touched the ball deeper and higher versus Fulham and carried it almost twice as frequently, despite Zubimendi’s advanced role against Atletico.
Lewis-Skelly’s touch map from the Fulham match shows how frequently he touched the ball.
Zubimendi struggled to have the same impact on the game in either half of the pitch despite playing a more forward role in the first leg versus Atletico.
It is extremely risky to put a man who has just started one game in central midfield for Arsenal in the starting lineup of a Champions League semi-final, but Lewis-Skelly has already demonstrated in his burgeoning career that he is ready for the big moment. Last season, Lewis-Skelly dominated Real Madrid on a memorable night at the Bernabeu.
In the group stage, he again demonstrated his abilities in Arsenal’s crushing 4-0 victory over Atletico at home. Despite playing ostensibly at left defence, he frequently moved into center areas and purposefully carried the ball forward.
He skilfully navigated through a sea of blue jerseys to insert Gabriel Martinelli for the Gunners’ second goal.
In October, Lewis-Skelly demonstrated his technical prowess in Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Atletico by receiving the ball under duress and then making a crazy run up the pitch.
As he approached their box, the young man ignored the four Atletico players’ attention.
Additionally, he demonstrated his inventiveness by allowing Gabriel Martinelli to score Arsenal’s second goal.
Once more, at a position where Arsenal has severely lacked creativity this season, that boldness on the ball in central areas is probably going to be crucial.
Not a single assist in the Premier League since the start of the new year has come from outside the box between the six-yard area’s width.
Bringing Zubimendi back in is an easy decision for Arteta. Giving him a break against Fulham is what he intended to do, and if we’re being completely honest, that’s what he will still do.
Even in the best of circumstances, the Arsenal manager is not one to take chances, much less when everything is at stake. However, there are instances when you must. Mikel, go ahead, have courage.
