Eberechi Eze’s Arsenal dream is in danger of fizzling out, fears former Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew.
The England international returned to his spiritual home in the summer and enjoyed a glorious homecoming following his high-profile move from the Eagles.
Eze finished his first campaign back in north London as a Premier League winner, but aside from two standout performances against Spurs he largely flattered to deceive and his season culminated in a costly penalty shooutout miss in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
After playing a bit-part role at the World Cup, it has been more of the same for Eze during the opening months of the current season with Martin Odegaard back to full fitness and operating in the No.10 role.
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Hand an opportunity to impress on the left wing on Sunday in the absence of Christos Tzolis but he was hauled off at the break and replaced by eventual matchwinner Noni Madueke.
‘In the way that he sets his No.10 up I don’t see Eze getting a lot of action there,’ a concerned Pardew told talkSPORT.
‘There’s a real defensive side to that position that he likes that Odegaard does that he doesn’t do.
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‘I think Arteta doesn’t feel comfortable with that. I think there’s certain games against perhaps lesser opposition where Eze will be given that No.10 shirt.
‘But I’ve seen him out on that left-hand side for Crystal Palace a few times and it’s just not him, he’s never going to go outside and whip left-footed crosses in.
‘He wants to play centrally and make the game too narrow, therefore you’ve not got enough width. It is a problem and Arteta took him off rightly because it just wasn’t working.
‘But in the first instance maybe he shouldn’t have picked him there and used him off the bench as an impact No.10.
‘I think that will be his role, if he needs a goal I don’t think Eze will be a starter and if they need a moment or he’s looking for a moment to give him the last 10 or 15 minutes of games.’