Unique Eberechi Eze shows Mikel Arteta what he can offer Arsenal

It should be stressed that Arsenal and Eze were doing this against highly accommodating opponents. Few teams in world football can cope when Arsenal play with the beautiful ferocity of their opening half hour and it was fathoms above the capabilities of the team 22nd in League One, who have conceded 14 goals in their past five matches.

The match felt ripe to be seized by Eze for one of those Gareth Bale vs Inter Milan-type performances. Instead his moments of genius were matched by needless losses of possession, which might have been punished by a better counter-attacking team.

His defensive contributions do not lack effort, but he is clearly more effective with time and space on the ball than when out of possession. Certainly he seems unlikely to thrive when his average position is deeper than anyone other than Declan Rice and Arsenal’s two centre-backs among their outfielders, as it was against Brentford.

Even as the main man at Palace he could go quiet during games, but would often provide a defining moment from unpromising situations. In that respect he is an unusual presence in Mikel Arteta’s impeccable machine, but his manager appears relaxed about what he offers his team. “Some superb balls,” Arteta said of Eze’s performance “His intentions, the risks he took in the final third, the amount of shots he tried to take. That’s really positive, that’s what we want from him.

“He is already playing a big role, he’s played a lot of games for us and will continue to do that. Especially the creative players, they need to feel they are producing those moments. I’m very happy with that and Gabi [Martinelli] as well, the run he made, the timing of that and the finishing action, really positive. For the mood and the confidence it’s a really good thing.”

The afternoon belatedly improved for Wigan when they mercy-killed Hunt and brought on Matt Smith, who made Arsenal’s bench in their last FA Cup final in 2020. Graham Barrow, the Wigan caretaker manager, switched to a back four, which made his team more solid. Still you sensed Arsenal’s supporters were keen for a cathartic bludgeoning, some footballing Senokot to relieve their attacking blockages.

Instead, Arsenal understandably eased off. The game was won and there was a gradual mutual understanding between crowd and staff that the secondary objective was avoiding injuries. Ben White did not manage that, although walked off when he was replaced by Martín Zubimendi. Riccardo Calafiori was hurt in the warm-up with Bukayo Saka brought in to start shortly before kick-off.

There were some minor grumbles towards Viktor Gyokeres, on for Saka and unfortunate not to score, hitting a post instead. His worst crime was miscuing a header from a serviceable Martinelli cross. It did not matter much, although there was a slight unfulfillment with the scoreless second half. Arsenal had earned the right to that with their electric start. For all his unusual qualities as a player, Eze was its architect.