Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer insists Arsenal looked a better side when Eberechi Eze went off against Brentford last week.
Keane Lewis-Potter cancelled out a Noni Madueke opener as the Bees took a share of the spoils at the Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday in a 1-1 draw.
That result saw Manchester City close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to four points with just 12 league matches remaining.
There is even a chance that Arsenal could win an unprecedented Quadruple this term as they are in the League Cup final, the last-16 of the Champions League and through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Eze, who signed from Crystal Palace in the summer for £67.5m, has not had the impact many hoped so far this season with the England international subbed off at half-time in the draw against Brentford.
And Shearer reckons Arsenal looked “better” without Eze – who started in the Gunners’ 4-0 win over Wigan in the FA Cup on Sunday – and that the former Crystal Palace man looked like “he needed the world to swallow him up” against the Bees.
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Shearer told Betfair: “Mikel Arteta has got one or two things that he needs to iron out. I mean, the situation with Eze against Brentford was surprising a bit because he seems lost or at least he did in that game.
“He took him off at half time and they got a little bit better. They put more pressure on Brentford and then they got the goal. But I thought Brentford were worth their point at least.
“Eze looks lost. It’s remarkable really, isn’t it? The guy we’re talking about who scored the hat-trick in the north London derby. Everyone was thinking, wow, what a player he is and what a time he’s going to have at Arsenal.
“The way he sort of walked out full of confidence in that Arsenal stadium when he got his move and he looked as if he was a natural fit and, and belonged there. But he looked lost against Brentford.
“He looked as if he needed the world to swallow him up. He didn’t look comfortable at all.”
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On Eze’s chances of going to the World Cup with England, Shearer added: “He won’t be in the England squad if he’s not going to be playing.
“I think that was his first start from mid-December last year as well. He’s hardly had any starts as well and that has to change if he’s going to get in the England squad.”
When asked why Eze was subbed off against Brentford, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta replied: “Because with the way, especially that they were pressing, I think we needed another kind of profile to generate many more problems for them around those areas, and I think he [Odegaard] came on in the pitch really well and the team had another gear and more threat to arrive to the areas that we wanted to do and that decision.”
On Eze’s start at Arsenal, Arteta added: “Well, I think he had moments and it’s not easy when you move to a new club.
“It’s always like this, and when you play against a team that is like this and the ball is a lot of times not on the floor and you have to be constantly breaking the play and do that, especially for attacking and creative players, it’s more difficult.”