Shaka Hislop felt that Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze was ‘non-existent- for Mikel Arteta’s side in their 2-1 Premier League defeat to Aston Villa.
Arsenal’s remarkable 18-game unbeaten run came to an end at Villa Park on Saturday as Emi Buendia’s injury-time winner sparked life back into the title race.
Unai Emery’s side took the lead in the first half through Matty Cash before the in-form Leandro Trossard found an equaliser just six minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.
However, it was Villa who had the final say in front of their home fans, Buendia angling the ball past David Raya in the fifth minute of stoppage to give the hosts their seventh straight win in all competitions.
With fixtures beginning to pile up over the festive period, Arsenal appeared a tad jaded on Saturday, with injuries in defensive areas also seeming to take their toll.
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Regardless, former Premier League goalkeeper Hislop said he was left unimpressed by Eze’s performance at Villa Park, which ultimately saw the Englishman replaced by Trossard at the break.
‘From an Arsenal perspective, it feels like yesterday we were talking about Eberechi Eze and his performance against Spurs and how good he looked through the middle,’ Hislop told ESPN.
‘He could have been taken off after 30 minutes, I’ll be honest.
‘Now I am as willing as anybody to sing Eze’s praises, but everything from Arsenal came down the right in that first half.
‘Everything came through Bukayo Saka, so the change had to be made at half-time because Eze was non-existent.’
On Trossard, though, Hislop was far more complimentary, saying of the Belgian: ‘Leandro Trossard always seems to pop up exactly where he is needed.
‘I think he is one of the most undervalued players in the Premier League. He just seems to know where to be at the right time and find a goal at the right time.’
Victory for Villa moved Emery’s side to within three points of Arsenal, with Manchester City only two points behind the Gunners in second after their win over Sunderland on Saturday.
And former Chelsea centre-back Frank Leboeuf believes the title could now be a three-horse race, even if the Frenchman still fancies Arsenal to get the job done.
‘Everybody is predicting that Arsenal are going to win the Premier League, but we have a race,’ Leboeuf said.
‘It’s a pity that Chelsea fell asleep again today but Man City and Aston Villa are chasing Arsenal, and it’s good for the Premier League.
‘It’s what we want. We want suspense and that’s what we have. I’m very pleased, even if I think that Arsenal are still the best team in the Premier League this season.’
Speaking after Saturday’s victory, Emery was keen to downplay his side’s title chances, but Arteta was adamant that Villa will be one of the sides challenging Arsenal come the end of the season.
‘They are,’ the Spaniard said when asked if Villa can challenge.
‘When you look at where they are, the way they play, they have beaten some big teams, especially at home.
‘Everybody is going to have to play everybody, so at the moment they are where they are and we are there as well.’
Both clubs are back in European action in midweek, with Arsenal travelling to face Club Brugge and Villa making the trip to Switzerland to take on Basel.
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