Arsenal are basking in the glory of beating Tottenham in the race for Eberechi Eze – but Mikel Arteta must now work out where to play him.
Spurs’ deal for the Crystal Palace star was virtually done and dusted until Arsenal swooped in to hijack the move, reacting decisively to Kai Havertz’s worrying knee injury.
Arsenal have agreed a £67.5m transfer for Eze – but some football pundits have questioned who he’ll replace in the Gunners’ starting line-up.
Nigel Winterburn has told Metro that he thinks Eze will be deployed on the left wing, which would relegate Gabriel Martinelli to Arsenal’s bench.
Arsenal feel the 27-year-old England international’s best position is when he’s used as a No.10 – an area that Martin Odegaard operates in.
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Eze shone for Palace last season as one of two No.10s in a 3-4-2-1 formation – but could he replace Odegaard? Scroll on to find out…
Eze could replace Martinelli on left wing
Eze has mainly been used as an attacking midfielder in the middle of the pitch – but he does have experience of playing as a left winger too.
In the 2023-24 season, Eze played on the left wing 10 times, conjuring up five goals and two assists for Palace when he was used in that area.
It’s the position in which Arsenal arguably need the biggest upgrade – given Martinelli’s inconsistency last term.
Eze could be used as the left winger in Arsenal’s 4-3-3 formation with Bukayo Saka on the right and Viktor Gyokeres up top.
He would be free to cut inside and move into central areas – where Eze normally thrives.
That’s similar to how Arteta has used Leandro Trossard in the past.
Winterburn: Eze is a game-changer
‘He’s a player who I think is a game-changer,’ Arsenal icon Winterburn told Metro about Eze.
‘He’s going to compete with Martinelli. All the players we’re being linked with suggest they want to strengthen on the left side.
‘That’s where they’re feeling at the moment where the competition isn’t as strong as it should be.
‘They can move players around, of course they can, but I would say he’ll come in and play on the left side.’
Eze could replace Odegaard as Arsenal’s No.10
Arsenal have plenty of fixtures to deal with this season with the team competing in the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups.
It’s unlikely that Odegaard will start every single match – and that could allow Eze to step in and play in his preferred position as a No.10 when Arteta decides to rotate his squad.
Odegaard missed a number of games last term due to an ankle sprain – so if Arsenal’s captain picks up any fresh injury problems in the 2025-26 campaign – that could also see Eze come in to replace him in the middle.
Eze produced 14 goals and 11 assists across 39 games for Palace last season when he was used as a central attacking midfielder.
Odegaard failed to register a single goal or assist in the four Champions League knockout games against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain last term – so Eze could replace him if the Norwegian’s form starts to dip too.
The statistics in the table below show Odegaard’s declining numbers in the Premier League across the last two seasons.
Eze may replace Rice and play next to Odegaard
It’s no secret that Arsenal have sometimes struggled to break down teams who like to sit deep.
Having two playmakers on the pitch – Eze and Odegaard – could fix that problem in games where Arsenal dominate possession of the ball.
As mentioned above, Arsenal have a lot of fixtures to navigate in the 2025-26 campaign and Declan Rice will need a rest from time to time.
Rice could be the player to drop out of Arsenal’s XI to allow Eze to play alongside Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi in the Gunners’ midfield.
Arteta could also decide to use Rice as the defensive midfielder – instead of Zubimendi – which would allow him to play with Odegaard and Eze.
Is there anywhere else Eze could play?
It’s been suggested that Eze could potentially operate as a false nine for Arsenal.
That would require Gyokeres dropping to the bench, with Eze leading the attack in a central area.
Given Havertz could be out injured for a lengthy period, this might make sense for Arteta to give the Gunners more options up top.
Eze played up front for England in a friendly against Senegal in June and Arteta has been known to experiment with his players having used Mikel Merino as a striker last season.