He hasn’t enjoyed much playing time since his hat-trick against Tottenham in November 2025
Despite a strong start to his career at Arsenal, Eberechi Eze hasn’t managed to get much playing time in 2026 amid rumours of under-par performances in training.
Having joined from Crystal Palace in the summer, Eze recorded two assists in his first two Premier League games with the Gunners before netting a hat-trick in a 4-1 derby triumph against Tottenham Hotspur in late November.
Yet, when everything indicated that he would gradually become a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up, Eze has fallen back in the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium.
In fact, the England international hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since the game against Spurs, with his last Premier League start dating back in mid-December in a narrow 2-1 win over Wolves on home soil.
What followed was four games against Everton, Brighton, Aston Villa and Bournemouth in which he didn’t even come off the bench before featuring for a total of 23 minutes in Arsenal’s last two league fixtures against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
Rooney backs Eze amid World Cup uncertainty
Meanwhile, former England striker Wayne Rooney has called on Arsenal supporters to show patience with Eze, insisting the midfielder will grow into a key figure for the club once he fully adapts to the demands of his new environment.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Video, Rooney pointed to the mental and tactical shift required when a player moves from Crystal Palace to Arsenal.
“People don’t realise how difficult it is, him moving from Crystal Palace to Arsenal,” Rooney said.
“To have that consistency of winning every week, it’s a big difference to what he’s been used to and that can be really difficult mentally.
“This season, he has to try and obviously get back into the team because he’s a fantastic player and he is trying to go to the World Cup as well.
“But I think it will be over the next year or two that we’re going to see him cement his place in the team and then obviously become a great player for Arsenal.”
England boss Thomas Tuchel has made it clear to his players that regular club football this season will be essential if they are to put themselves in the strongest position to earn a place in his squad.
“I hope this for everyone. Everyone gets their places back in any club where they play,” he said back in June.
“I just said it to the players. You have now unfortunately a long pause but I expect you to be fit when you start pre-season with your club, I expect you to get your place, wherever you play, and I expect you to be in the right mindset when we start in the World Cup season in September.”