Arteta defends Arsenal's summer signings as Eze's playing time sparks debate

Table of Contents

Mikel Arteta has made it clear that he stands by his decision to give Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke ample opportunities since their high-profile arrivals at Arsenal. The manager emphasized that both players have been given enough chances to prove themselves, despite not being regular starters in recent matches.

Eze, who joined the club for a reported £67.5 million from Crystal Palace, and Madueke, who moved from Chelsea for around £50 million, are both aiming to be part of England’s World Cup squad later this season. However, securing a place in the Arsenal starting lineup remains their primary goal.

Eze has not featured in any of the last three Premier League games, while Madueke has started only five league matches so far. A knee injury has hampered Madueke’s progress, with only one start since September. Arteta acknowledged these challenges but pointed out that Eze has played more minutes than ever before during this period of the season.

"I speak to every player," Arteta said. "The players always need to understand and the manager needs to understand how each one is feeling. Assess games, assess the emotional state. Ebs has played more games, more minutes than ever at this time. He's played I think 22 out of 28 games or something like this. He's never played that much football so we're on a good track."

The competition for places in the Arsenal squad has been tough, particularly with Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard performing consistently well. Eze’s first half of the season has been largely frustrating, aside from a standout hat-trick against Tottenham. Meanwhile, Madueke showed promise early in the campaign but was derailed by a knee injury.

There have been concerns raised about whether Eze and Madueke might struggle to secure playing time in a World Cup year. However, Arteta dismissed these worries, stating that there are no issues with either player.

"From who? What they need to do is be prepared like they've been and when they have the opportunity to play, perform like any other player. This is no different. There have been periods where they have played every three days, sometimes they played too much. Noni as well has been injured for a while and we have to manage and monitor his load. With Ebs, the first few months we've had some great moments with him, we had some others moments where there are things we need to improve. We are on that journey."

Arteta also praised the attitude and determination of both players. "The good thing is they want it so badly. The way they come in every single day and how much they want to give to the team and impact the games is great to witness. That's the mentality they need to maintain."