Nigel Winterburn has challenged Eberechi Eze to be more assertive as the winger tries to find his feet in his first season at Arsenal.
Eze arrived from Crystal Palace in the summer for £67.5m and started brightly, scoring against his former club and hitting a hat-trick in November’s North London derby against Tottenham. Since then, though, he has struggled for consistency, failed to score, and has increasingly been used from the bench by Mikel Arteta.
Winterburn feels Eze’s relaxed style may be holding him back in such a competitive squad. He said: “He’s now at a huge club in terms of expectation, and he, Havertz, and Odegaard are battling to be in the same position. The one thing I would say is Odegaard’s all energy. Eze looks a little bit more laid-back with the way, the style he plays.”
Winterburn wants to see Eze demand the ball more in dangerous areas and fully express his ability.
“When he gets that opportunity, I would just like to see him a bit more demanding of the ball in the creative areas and really showing us what we know he can do. He’s got lovely close control, can pick out a pass, and can score goals.”
