Mikel Arteta To Adjust Eberechi Eze's Position Following His First Goal For Arsenal

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Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta, plans to adjust Eberechi Eze's role to maximise his involvement in matches. This decision follows Eze's first goal for Arsenal after joining for £67.5 million. He scored early in the 2-0 victory over Port Vale in the EFL Cup's third round. Myles Lewis-Skelly assisted with a flick from Gabriel Martinelli's pass, and Leandro Trossard secured the win late on.

Arteta faced criticism for not starting Eze in Arsenal's recent 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League. However, he intends to explore different ways to utilise the 27-year-old effectively. "It depends on the players around him and in certain moments the space was closed, so we moved him somewhere else," Arteta explained to Sky Sports. "He is a player who has to be in touch with the ball, and we will find ways to do that."

Eze led all players at Vale Park with an expected goals (xG) value of 0.45. He completed 38 out of 43 passes and won five of nine duels while playing on the left side of a midfield trio. Despite these impressive stats, Arteta believes Eze could have scored more goals during the match.

Arsenal will face Brighton in the fourth round of the competition following their win over Port Vale. Although Arsenal managed only 11 shots with an xG of 0.98, Arteta was satisfied that they did not concede any shots on target. Port Vale accumulated just 0.09 xG throughout the game.

Bukayo Saka made his first start since recovering from a hamstring injury, playing 63 minutes before being substituted by Max Dowman, aged 15. Arteta stated, "We wanted to play him for a maximum of 60 minutes." Managing Saka's minutes is crucial as he returns from a significant injury.

Arteta introduced Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Viktor Gyokeres late in the game to secure Arsenal's victory against their third-tier opponents. Despite some challenges during throw-ins when Port Vale played directly towards Arsenal's box, Arteta noted moments where his team displayed dominance and quality.

The manager emphasised that maintaining Arsenal's reputation was vital during this match. "The biggest thing is the reputation, and that's a big thing," he remarked about handling pressure from Port Vale supporters who were eager for their team to attack.