Left or right? Eberechi Eze, when on the ball, often finds himself taking on his opponent, knowing that he could burst either side of him, with the talent, skill and speed to beat anything in his path.

However, his path at Arsenal has reached a juncture, and very few, if any, even Ebs, as he is fondly known, know which direction it will go. After signing less than 15 months ago in a deal worth £67.5million, walking out to Lil Wayne’s ‘Let It All Work Out’ and a raucous Emirates Stadium, Eze finds himself regularly out of the starting eleven.

Even during the period without Christos Tzolis, out with a hamstring injury, Noni Madueke was initially given the nod to play on the left of the front three. Were it not for a further absence in the attacking line-up of Bukayo Saka, the 28-year-old might not have got the chances he ended up getting.

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Tzolis has started the first two Premier League matches immediately after returning to the squad; Eze dropped to the bench, although it is worth noting the former Crystal Palace talisman had been suffering from an ankle problem. Arteta described it as a near-miracle that he was even in the group at Anfield, where he was an unused substitute.

But after coming off the bench against Hull City, Eze caused frustration for Arteta. As Viktor Gyokeres broke away with the score still on a 1-0 knife-edge, the Swede played Eze the ball in the box, only for him to lose possession after failing to create a chance or take a shot.

Hull tried to break and required Gabriel to smash a clearance away and far up the field. Walking back, Eze, in the eyeline of Arteta, received a wild gesticulatory response from his manager. From the resulting throw-in from Gabriel’s clearance, a Hull player ghosted in front of Eze, received the ball before being fouled by the Arsenal man.

Arteta turned, stormed back to the dugout and kicked the front of a seat, his assistant Gabriel Heinze looking agitated by the action. At full-time, with the three points claimed, Arteta went straight to Eze and shared an embrace with a smile, speaking some covert words before enjoying the rest of the celebrations.

Arteta is all about intensity, application and loyalty. He wants energy from his team, and wants it applied to the cause with loyalty to the plan.

Every player has a job to do; if one piece of the machine is not working, the whole system becomes vulnerable. "Without that, you have no chance to play in this team," Arteta said when asked about Eze’s off-the-ball work in March of this year, when he was starting to show his best, scoring twice against Tottenham, his fourth and fifth goals against the North London rivals in the season.

"Because everybody does it, and that's the magic of it, and the reason why we are so consistent in winning matches and preventing the opponent to score.

"He can do it. If he could not do it, I would never demand it. He can do it, he's willing to do it, and he's doing it better and better every day."

And the fact that Arteta has been so outspoken on Eze’s ability to do what is necessary is perhaps what sparks such reactions as what we saw at Hull City when he doesn’t. This season he has played more off the left as a result of the squad shape and Martin Odegaard’s return to form and an undroppable status through the middle – where Eze would certainly prefer to play.

But it is not as if he was moving into untrodden ground. He had played nearly 50 times for Crystal Palace off the left, amassing more than 3700 minutes in the role.

His versatility to play in multiple roles is why the club committed the most they spent on a single player in the summer of 2025, on him, as a result of the injury suffered by Kai Havertz. It was indeed Eze who had even contacted Arteta earlier that summer to speak of his desire to play for Arsenal, with a move eventually materialising when it looked as if he was on the cusp of a switch instead to Tottenham.

Arsenal was his dream. Arsenal became his reality.

Eze was part of the Arsenal academy between 2006 and 2011, he watched the end of a great era for Arsenal, where the Invincibles were disassembled as the Emirates Stadium switch forced the club into a period of restriction while Chelsea and then Manchester City dominated alongside high-spending Manchester United.

The three sides built squads Arsenal could not compete with. But still, under Arsene Wenger, Eze watched his senior peers at the club attempt to play fluid, attacking and stylish football.

Were someone to invent a time machine and drop Eze into the Arsenal team of the mid-2000s, eventually becoming the one to succeed Robert Pires instead of Aleksandr Hleb, he no doubt would have flourished. So then does the question become is Eze a victim more so of the Arsenal system?

Watch any compilation of his time at Crystal Palace; although naturally the classic YouTube clips can make anyone look Lionel Messi-esque, yet the baseline expectations are there. A player with freedom, a player with bravery and speed of thought.

Under former Arsenal captain and then Palace manager Patrick Vieira, Eze struggled for faith. It was evident that his defensive work was not at the level that the Frenchman required.

Upon Roy Hodgson’s return, and paired with Cheick Doucoure and Jeffrey Schlupp, he could be afforded the freedom again. But, ironically, still recognised that his off-the-ball work

“I’m enjoying it,” Eze said about Hodgson’s return as manager in April 2023. “I’m still learning and still growing into the role. I have still got loads of improvement to go, especially defensively, but I’m enjoying it, and I hope it continues.”

Hodgson would step down less than a year later, the following season with his side in 16 th place come February and five points above the relegation zone – although, importantly, Hodgson had been suffering from ill health during the period.

Eze had scored five league goals to that stage, but, injury aside, was primarily the attacking midfielder. Enter Oliver Glasner, and Eze was played on the left seven times; he scored five goals and added two assists.

But crucially, unlike at Arsenal, Glasner adopted a 3-4-2-1 system with Eze supported by both Tyrick Mitchell at left-wing-back and Will Hughes in midfield, who allowed him to again play with far more freedom in attack.

While the Arsenal system may not be set up to suit Eze the same way it was at Palace, the reality is for the 28-year-old that the whole will always be prioritised over individuals. You have to bend, whereas the system will not bend to you.

And that brings us back to what comes next for Eze. He has shown a willingness to work hard on his fitness, but that dedication to being available must now evolve again to take on the demands of the system.

The system that means he is a Premier League winner, the system that has helped re-establish his status at international level and a system which he can learn to find his best form in once again. If not, then for the betterment of him and the team, a decision over his future will come far sooner than many expected and certainly earlier than his backers prior to his arrival, myself included, would have imagined.

So, left or right, Ebs?