Theo Walcott is ‘a little bit disappointed’ Mikel Arteta dropped Eberechi Eze for Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Manchester City.
Arsenal signed Eze from Crystal Palace in the summer transfer window in a deal worth £67.5m.
Eze was named in the starting line-up for Arsenal’s 2-0 Champions League victory over Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday, featuring for a total of 71 minutes.
But the England international was benched for Sunday’s game at the Emirates, with Arsenal lacking a creative spark in the first half against City.
With Martin Odegaard unavailable due to an injury, some supporters and pundits were expecting to see Eze start in the attacking midfield role.
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But Arsenal boss Arteta surprisingly picked a midfield trio of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino – the same selection for the 1-0 loss at Liverpool this term – where many argued Arsenal were too negative.
‘I’m a little bit disappointed not to see Eze in the Arsenal team,’ Walcott told the BBC.
‘But for me in midweek [in the Champions League] he’s got to do a bit more.
‘However, I think he’s going to have to get used to this new system at Arsenal and the amount of options they have.
‘[Arsenal’s XI against Man City] feels a little negative but having someone like Eze to come off the bench in the last 20 minutes will be important.’
Erling Haaland’s goal in the ninth minute of the match saw City head into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
City aimed a subtle dig at Arteta on social media over Haaland’s goal – posting a picture of the striker with the caption ‘Finisher’ – in reference to the ‘finishers’ the Arsenal boss said he had the luxury of calling upon from the bench.
Gary Neville, on Sky Sports commentary duties, said just before half-time: ‘There’s a feeling Mikel Arteta hasn’t taken the hand break off.
‘He’s gone with safety. If you go 1-0 down, it can look like basic football.’
Roy Keane, in his half-time analysis, added: ‘[Arsenal] haven’t offered enough. I’m sat here thinking, ‘What are they waiting for?’ – There were question marks over the starting XI.
‘People like Eze… and obviously [Bukayo] Saka is coming back from an injury, but they need more.’
Eze was handed a start in Arsenal’s last Premier League match before facing City as he provided an assist in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Arteta ended up bringing Eze on at the start of the second half against City, with the 27-year-old replacing Merino. Bukayo Saka also came on at half-time for Noni Madueke.
