£65m Arsenal player now has a golden opportunity after Aston Villa performance

Eberechi Eze is yet to really have a clear role at Arsenal.

When he joined last summer, the initial plan appeared to be to use him as a left-wing option given Arsenal’s long-standing need to upgrade in that area.

But Eze isn’t a natural left winger. Not really. At Crystal Palace he operated as a left ten, playing further inside than Arsenal’s left wingers tend to.

And perhaps the more pressing issue (no pun intended) was his out-of-possession work — the defensive tracking and the pressing.

It took time for Eze to adapt, and at times it showed. Most notably at Villa Park last December.

Mikel Arteta reportedly made Eze rewatch his repeated failure to track Matty Cash on repeat. It ended in a last-gasp 2-1 defeat which clearly stuck with Arteta.

His next league start on the left didn’t come until late April, away to Manchester City.

But on Monday night, Christos Tzolis was hooked at half-time after struggling against Aston Villa. Eze replaced him and made an impact.

He stayed wide the majority of the time while left-back Riccardo Calafiori attacked the inside space. That pattern unlocked a stubborn Villa defence for Bukayo Saka’s winner.

After the game, Arteta explained what he wants from Eze this time around. “To trust him. We knew that he could create an action,” the Arsenal manager said. “But as well, I had to trust him when they made those rotations, especially on the right side.

“Cash’s goal last year, he lost him and we conceded a goal. This year, I think he learned his lesson.”

Eberechi Eze can make the left wing position his own

With Gabriel Martinelli leaving for Saudi Arabia, Arsenal are looking light in that area of the pitch.

They may well choose to strengthen that position on deadline day, with reports indicating they are weighing up a move for Lyon’s Malick Fofana.

But if they don’t bring anyone in, Monday night showed clearly that Eze has a genuine opportunity to make that position his own.

Arteta will be hoping Martin Odegaard can get back to the heights we know he’s capable of, and if he stays fit, Eze’s clearest pathway to regular minutes is surely out wide.

Mikel Merino came on for Odegaard against Villa and did excellent, establishing himself as a genuine number 10 option too.

But out wide, if Eze can really nail down that position and develop a combination with Calafiori, with Tzolis as the backup, Arsenal suddenly look a lot stronger on that side.

We’ve not seen the best of Eze on the left yet. But maybe Monday night was the moment it all starts to click into place.