The Frenchman has become the creative reference point for the Bavarian giants, while the Englishman is still looking for his place at Arsenal.

Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze left Crystal Palace at different times, but they shared something: they had established themselves as two of the most talented players at the club. The Frenchman went to Bayern Munich in 2024, while the Englishman fulfilled his dream of playing for Arsenal a year later.

Since then, their trajectories have taken different directions, showing how tactical context and space within a team can be decisive for a player’s development.

Olise turned the potential he showed in England into a leading role in Germany. Since arriving at Bayern Munich, the attacker has become one of the team’s main offensive creators, combining goals, assists and constant involvement in build-up play. Ninth place in the 2026 Ballon d’Or recognised an evolution that was already evident on the pitch, although a higher position would have been fairer.

Eze, on the other hand, has not yet been able to reproduce the influence he had at Palace at Arsenal. Signed to add creativity and the ability to unbalance the attack, the midfielder alternates between performances out wide and opportunities as an alternative to Martin Odegaard. The change of role, together with the competition for places, helps explain why his adaptation is far from achieving the same success as his former team-mate.

Olise found the ideal environment at Bayern Munich to maximise his talent

Michael Olise’s numbers in Germany show a progression that goes beyond a good run in front of goal. In his first season at Bayern Munich, in 2024-25, the Frenchman scored 20 goals and provided 20 assists in 55 games. The following campaign, he maintained his consistency and raised his output to 21 goals and 26 assists in 52 games. At the start of 2026-27, he already has 10 goals and five assists in just 11 appearances.

The number of direct goal contributions is striking, but it does not explain the attacker’s importance on its own. Olise is a player capable of taking responsibility for finishing a move or identifying the team-mate in a better position to finish it. His repertoire includes passes that break defensive lines, accurate crosses, combinations in tight spaces and individual moves that force opponents to shift their marking.

That variety makes him a true playmaker, even when playing mainly on the flanks.

Olise does not need to receive the ball in a position to shoot to be decisive: he can also drop back a few metres, take part in circulation and speed up the attack with a pass that disorganises the defence. When he finds space to carry the ball towards the box, he adds a constant goal threat to that creative ability.

Bayern Munich’s context also favours this repertoire. In a team that often takes control of matches and has attackers capable of getting into the box, Olise finds options to turn his vision into assists. The presence of team-mates who move to receive his passes widens the possibilities for combinations and prevents opposition marking from focusing exclusively on blocking his shots.

That does not mean the Frenchman has become a different player from the one at Crystal Palace. In England, he already showed technical quality, vision and the ability to decide matches. The difference is in the dimension those characteristics have reached in Munich.

Bayern Munich offers a bigger stage, but Olise has also risen to the demands, improving his consistency and his ability to influence different moments of matches.

Eze is still looking for space to repeat his protagonism at Arsenal

Eberechi Eze’s trajectory is more complex because his difficulty is not limited to attacking production. In 2024-25, his last full season at Crystal Palace, the midfielder scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 43 games. He was one of the main sources of the team’s creativity, with the freedom to receive between the lines, carry the ball and get close to the box. His performances justified Arsenal’s interest, and they signed him in 2025.

His first season at Arsenal, however, left a less impressive record than the raw numbers may suggest. Eze scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 52 games in 2025-26.

They are reasonable statistics for a player who had to adapt to a new team, but the distribution of the goals deserves attention: five of them came in just two north London derbies against Tottenham, both in the Premier League. In one of those games he scored a hat-trick, in the other he found the net twice.

Those two games helped build his image as a tormentor of Tottenham, but they also show why the total goal count is not enough to judge his season. Outside those matches, Eze was unable to maintain a frequency of decisive contributions that would put him among Arsenal’s main attacking references.

The problem is not to disregard the importance of scoring in derbies, but to recognise that one-off great performances do not replace the constant influence expected of a player signed to add creativity to the team.

The tactical question is central. At Palace, Eze played in a system with three centre-backs and two wing-backs, the 3-4-3, which allowed him to occupy inside areas often and take part directly in creation. At Arsenal, his use has been more variable. In some games he appears out wide; in others he appears as an alternative to Odegaard, who occupies an important central role in the team’s offensive organisation.

The difference is not only in the starting position. When he receives further from the box, Eze has to beat his marker in situations where he has fewer passing options nearby. Inside, he can make better use of his carrying, his ability to turn under pressure and his vision to find team-mates. At the same time, competing with Odegaard means competing for a position in which Arsenal already have an established player in the collective structure.

The start of 2026-27 reinforces the difficulty of gaining continuity. Eze has two goals and one assist in 12 games in all competitions. In the first eight Premier League rounds, he started only twice, came on from the bench in another four and did not leave the bench in the other two. With fewer minutes and alternating roles, it is harder to gain rhythm, build understanding and establish a run of performances capable of changing his situation.

The talent has not changed, but the context made the difference

The comparison with Olise, therefore, should not be read as a definitive verdict on Eze’s quality. The two arrived at their new clubs in different circumstances and found different demands. The Frenchman gained space to turn his creativity into a central weapon for Bayern Munich; the Englishman still needs to find a role in which he can take more part in build-up and receive the ball in the zones where he performs best.

The talent that made Eze one of Palace’s standouts has not disappeared. The question is how to use it in an Arsenal side with an offensive structure different from the one he was used to. Olise has already found that answer at Bayern Munich and become one of the team’s most influential names. Eze is still looking for his, and until he wins space and consistency, the gap between the two trajectories is likely to remain evident.