Arsenal are going to miss the services of Eberechi Eze for at least the first fortnight of April.
The 27-year-old suggested he was fine after picking up a knock in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen last Wednesday, March 18, March 18. However, he turned out to be a surprise omission from the matchday squad for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
Since the showdown on Sunday, March 22, sources have revealed that the injury was worse than first feared. Indeed, the BBC are one among many sources to report that a calf problem has ruled him out of action for four to six weeks, and the attacker has also pulled out of international duty for England.
Arsenal’s squad is stretched in a key position
This season has been a story of injury management for the Gunners, and the theme prevails.
Near the start of the winter window, few would have worried about the options for Arsenal as an attacking midfielder. Martin Odegaard was arguably in his best streak of form, Kai Havertz had returned to action in the FA Cup against Portsmouth, and Eze added depth as a summer signing.
Mikel Merino had featured in the role as a deputy for Odegaard, and academy graduate Ethan Nwaneri was also a replacement for the club captain towards the start of the season. The Spaniard then suffered a foot injury against Manchester United, and he is expected to be out of action until May. But the club were confident enough in their roster to send out Nwaneri on loan to Marseille.
Even if the teenage talent was barely getting any playing time, that decision seems to have backfired on the group. Bukayo Saka has since been drafted into the position as an additional option, including in the latter stages of the Carabao Cup final, while Odegaard has picked up another knee injury.
Now that Eze is absent from action and Odegaard is still on the mend, Mikel Arteta might have to use Saka or Havertz as an attacking midfielder for a little longer. Both men have been major pieces of the puzzle for the manager in the offensive unit, but their best work has been done in other areas.
The experimentation with alternative options in the ten has not been a smooth ride for the side.
Saka started in the position against Wolves, one of the flattest displays from the Gunners this year. Even if he has the intelligence to make the role work, the side has also grown used to his habits on the right wing, and the inclusion of Noni Maduekemay mean more reshuffling than Arteta would like.
Havertz had a better time in the role in a 4-0 win over Leeds United. However, Arsenal only created one open play effort in the first half at Elland Road, relying on two set-piece goals to create a buffer.
And if anyone needed any more evidence that the duo of Havertz and Gyokeres are not a surefire way to success, the one-dimensional attack at Wembley Stadium showed that other solutions are required.
Another absence at a crucial point in the campaign
Eze remains a unique option in the squad. He does not operate like Odegaard as a patient, probing controller, nor is he gifted with Havertz’s physical traits. But he does provide the ball striking, flair and creativity to give a systemic side some magical moments— with increasing regularity.
His strikes against Tottenham and Leverkusen, as well as his constant threat against Everton, exhibited how the talismanic ten was hitting his stride, and this injury seems to have come at the worst possible moment.
The saving grace for the Gunners might be the strength of their schedule. Southampton represent lower-tier opposition in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, while Sporting are the underdogs in the Champions League and an opponent who must travel to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg.
Similarly, Bournemouth will head to North London for the team’s first fixture in the Premier League next month. It is only by the 18th April that Arsenal will lock horns with the Citizens at the Etihad Stadium, and their number ten could have returned to the matchday squad by that point.