MIKEL ARTETA has launched a late hijack on Arsenal’s north London neighbours to land himself a new attacking threat.
Last night the Gunners agreed a deal in principle to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, snatching the England international from under the nose of Tottenham, who appeared to be on the brink of a deal.
GettyArsenal have agreed a deal in principle to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace[/caption]
Mikel Arteta could have a selection headache on his hands with Eze’s arrivalShutterstock Editorial
Arsenal have been crying out for attacking creativity in the past couple of seasons, and there’s no doubt that Eze will add that in abundance – having had a hand in 16 Premier League goals last term.
Eze certainly solves that problem, but he does present a different one: Where will he play?
With Bukayo Saka on the right and new £63.5million striker Viktor Gyokeres signed to be a dominant presence in the middle, Arsenal’s biggest weakness would appear to be the left wing.
Eze can play there, but isn’t his strongest position by any stretch.
While playing him in his preferred central role would mean Arteta would be forced to sacrifice one of his other big-name stars.
Here SunSport breaks down three potential starting XIs that Arteta could use to fit Eze into his system…
WINGING IT
In terms of strengthening Arsenal’s current best XI, playing Eze on the left wing appears to make the most sense.
The 27-year-old is an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, there’s no doubt about it.
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While Arsenal fans were far from taken with the £52m signing of Chelsea’s Noni Madueke this summer.
However, Eze started at left wing just three times for Palace in the league last season – failing to register a goal contribution in any of those games.
The positives of forcing him out wide for Arteta would be that he could keep the likes of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi all in the starting lineup and still gain Eze’s creativity.
While Eze’s propensity to drift in centrally would pair well with the way new front man Viktor Gyokeres likes to make runs down the left flank – making Arsenal’s left side unpredictable and hard to mark.
However, the lack of a naturally overlapping left-back could be an issue for balance.
New striker Viktor Gyokeres likes to play off the left flankGetty
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
Spending in excess of £60m on a player just to put them in a position that isn’t their strong suit seems a bit strange, while whispers out of the Emirates all summer have suggested that Eze is viewed as a central player.
However, fitting him into the squad in midfield would give Arteta a huge selection headache.
One of Rice, Zubimendi or Odegaard would have to make way from the midfield to afford space for Eze’s creativity.
Dropping Odegaard would be a huge statement given the Norwegian’s status at club captain, while Declan Rice has consistently been one of the Premier League’s best midfielders since his arrival in north London.
As such, Arteta could have to resort to dropping his new £56m arrival in Zubimendi and returning Rice to a deeper role in midfield if he wants to keep playing his preferred formation.
No matter which of those three stars Arteta chooses to bench it will certainly raise some question marks from fans.
GettyArteta could have to drop Martin Zubimendi[/caption]
THREE FOR ALL
There is one way that Arteta can get all his stars into one line up, but it will require a huge shift in the Gunners’ style of play.
The Spaniard could adopt a back three, allowing Eze to play a more free role in a central position without sacrificing Rice, Odegaard or Zubimendi.
Arsenal would instead line up with Bukayo Saka and Madueke playing as wing-backs either side of a midfield duo of Rice and Zubimendi.
Odegaard and Eze would play as dual No10s behind Gyokeres in what would be a scarily attacking starting XI.
The Gunners would have to shift to a gung-ho style that would almost certainly leave them defensively vulnerable.
But with a rock solid back three of Riccardo Calafiori, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, Arteta might just have the right personnel to pull off what would be a sensational change to his team.
Shutterstock EditorialBukayo Saka and Noni Madueke could play as wing-backs to accommodate a new formation[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
