Major Arsenal concern as star hobbles off earlier than Man City Carabao Cup remaining
Eberechi Eze scored a stunning goal to help Arsenal beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the Champions League, but the midfielder’s injury concerns could rule him out of the Carabao Cup final
Eberechi Eze makes an early exit with injury after scoring for Arsenal against Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16 clash
Arsenal star Eberechi Eze was withdrawn by Mikel Arteta with the clash against Bayer Leverkusen virtually secured, but raised alarm bells after signalling for a substitution.
Eze had handed the Gunners a vital breakthrough with a spectacular first-half strike and now could leave his boss anxious about his fitness for the Carabao Cup final showdown with Manchester City.
The goalscorer appeared to tweak something before being taken off as Arteta turned to his substitutes following Declan Rice’s goal that doubled Arsenal’s advantage at the Emirates. The midfield ace was withdrawn for former Leverkusen hero Kai Havertz. Eze sought to ease worries about his early exit at the final whistle. Speaking post-match, Eze said: “Yeah, I’m alright, I’ll be okay.”
The 27-year-old netted a thunderbolt to propel Arsenal towards the Champions League quarter-finals, after the Gunners returned from the BayArena with nothing last week, needing triumph against their German visitors on Tuesday evening.
Eze’s strike and display played a significant part in getting the Premier League pacesetters back on course in Europe. The goal will certainly remain etched in the midfielder’s memory.
“I don’t know if I could dream of scoring a goal like that,” Eze said. “It’s a special goal, I’m going to remember it for a long time. I’ll be rewatching this one for a long time.”
Former Arsenal and West Ham centre-back Matthew Upson reckons the midfielder is beginning to settle into life in north London following his summer arrival.
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“Just finding the change of gear to play at a club like Arsenal takes a little bit of time to settle in,” Upson explained. “Eze is up and down at the moment but he’s getting there. Especially a season like this, there’s so much winning pressure, a slip up is around the corner at every moment.”
Despite his encouraging comments, Eze’s early departure will spark some worry, with Arteta’s team aiming to claim their first trophy this weekend. Arsenal meet title rivals Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
Arsenal haven’t lifted the trophy since 1993, suffering final heartbreak on three occasions since. They’ve been beaten by Chelsea, Birmingham City and Manchester City.
Arteta had already begun rotating his squad prior to Eze’s untimely withdrawal. The Spanish boss introduced three changes immediately following Rice’s strike in the second half. Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Gabriel Martinelli came on for Martin Zubimendi, Ben White and Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal’s 2-0 triumph propels them into the Champions League quarter-finals. They’ll meet Sporting CP for a semi-final berth after the Portuguese side pulled off an extraordinary comeback against Bodo/Glimt, overturning a 3-0 first-leg disadvantage.
