Eberechi Eze said with all his passion and pride after contributing to helping Arsenal win a ticket to Wembley. That moment made Arsenal fans feel like they were relived in bright eyes, bright smiles and the feeling of complete happiness of a dream coming true.
Eze started, played the entire match against Chelsea and contributed to bringing Arsenal to the Carabao Cup final.
Of course, this is my club and since childhood it has been a dream. Therefore, winning with Arsenal, achieving achievements with Arsenal, is very meaningful to me" - he said after the match.
Special, special, special. This is the kind of match you always want to be in. You want to show a performance like this, and surely, being there is very special" - Eze added.
Last week, Eze started in the match against Kairat Almaty, then came on for 9 minutes in the match against Leeds United from the bench. Before that, this player had gone through many consecutive matches without being given a chance to play.
Of course, there will be concerns that if Eze is not played regularly, his position in the England national team for the 2026 World Cup may be threatened. However, everything sounds too harsh for a player who played excellently in November last year. He scored a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur, played impressively against Bayern Munich and started in a draw against Chelsea.
But Eze's season seemed to turn in a different direction after Arsenal's defeat to Aston Villa in early December. To bring Eze and Martin Odegaard into the same squad, he was pulled to the left wing - a position he used to play in, but clearly Eze performed better when playing as number 10.
In Villa's opening goal, Eze did not mark Matty Cash, was substituted in the second half and has since rarely been considered a starting choice. That seems to be Mikel Arteta's "harsh school" when just one mistake will cost a heavy price.
Eze is not a purely left-winger. However, he can play as an attacking midfielder, central midfielder (number 8) and is clearly a quality number 10. Eze's presence more or less puts competitive pressure on Odegaard this season - who has played well at times, although he has not maintained his form for the past three weeks.
But Eze really needs and deserves more opportunities. It is very difficult to judge when a player is constantly removed from the starting lineup. Arteta also needs to work with Eze, exploit more and use more effectively a strong, skillful and extremely intelligent player.
It would be an uncomfortable feeling to witness Eze talking so passionately and enthusiastically, but not really being given a fair opportunity. The season still has many matches ahead and he will still have time to play. Now, everything depends on Eze himself when he has to seize the opportunity when he appears.
