North London derby hat-trick! The Independent: Arsenal originally expected Eze to break out on Christmas Day

November 24th: In the 12th round of the North London Derby of the Premier League, Eze was blocked and Arsenal beat Tottenham 4-1 at home. According to an article published by The Independent, Arsenal originally expected Eze to break out at Christmas.

Reports said that a week before the North London Derby, Eze was supposed to take a short rest. He was given two days of rest after returning from the England national team, but he only took one day of rest before returning to the Colney training base. In this regard, head coach Arteta said with a smile: "He is eager to learn." The Arsenal coaching staff is very excited about Eze's development, but feedback from the training ground in the past few months shows that the player's performance is still a bit "restrained." In other words, he hasn't fully settled into his role yet.

However, this is not surprising, because Arteta's tactical instructions are famous for being complex and involve a lot of information, and Eze did not participate in the team's pre-season preparations, so it takes a lot of time to digest. Rice also encountered similar problems when he joined the team in 2023. Therefore, the coaching staff originally expected that Eze would not have an outbreak until after Christmas, when he would fully understand the team's tactical requirements. In contrast, one of the reasons why Arteta admires Timber very much is that he can quickly grasp the spirit of tactics. It is said that the same is true for the young player Dauman. Such a talent is indeed rare.

Another challenge for Eze is that he has been accustomed to playing freely as the core of the offensive organizer in Crystal Palace. At Arsenal, Arteta's coaching staff requires him to assist in this level of competition. You must be absolutely efficient when attacking the ball, otherwise unnecessary mistakes will destroy the operation of the team's tactical system. Arsenal are experimenting with a new attacking position on the left to allow Eze to best unleash his creativity. In the north London derby, this adjustment has begun to bear fruit. Throughout the game and after the game, everyone in the team was excited to believe that this was the moment when Eze truly integrated into the team. Even the coaching staff were full of praise for the way the third goal was scored, with Eze's "reinforcement" gone and fully settled into his new role.