Arteta's Madueke praise sends pointed message to struggling Eze

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Mikel Arteta rarely misses a chance to make a point without naming names. After Arsenal's 2-1 comeback win over Leeds United, the Arsenal manager heaped praise on Noni Madueke's performance on the left of the attack, and the timing felt deliberate given Eberechi Eze's ongoing struggle for minutes.

Arteta said: "I'm really happy with him because he deserves the chance that he got and he grabbed it with both hands, so when I haven't liked so much what he was doing or it wasn't impacting the game, I made certain decisions, he has accepted them."

He continued: "What he's done is raised the level and in training he's been the best player in the last 10 days and he gave me an option not to select him and not to play him today and you could see that every time he was in and around the ball, he looked it as well."

Eze still waiting for his chance

Arsenal's left flank has been under scrutiny all season after the club let both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli leave, replacing them only with Christos Tzolis. With Tzolis now sidelined by a hamstring injury picked up on international duty with Greece, many expected Eze to finally seize the left-wing role he occupied so effectively for large spells last season.

Instead, Eze did not even make it off the bench against Leeds, despite starting on the left for England in their 3-0 Nations League win over Czechia earlier in the week. He is yet to start a Premier League match for Arsenal this season.

By publicly praising Madueke's attitude and application in training, Arteta appears to be sending a clear signal that the left-wing spot is up for grabs on merit rather than reputation, and that Eze, signed for £67.5million last year, needs to respond.

A chance to kick on against Lille

According to football.london, Eze is expected to start when Arsenal host Lille in the Champions League, as part of a reshuffled XI that could also see Jurrien Timber replace Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera partner Gabriel Magalhaes, and Piero Hincapie come in for Riccardo Calafiori depending on the extent of a fitness scare picked up after the Leeds win. Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly are tipped to start in midfield, with Madueke potentially shifting to the right and Mikel Merino operating as the No.10.

Viktor Gyokeres, who scored four goals for Sweden during the international break, is also expected to return to lead the line having started on the bench against Leeds.

For Eze, the Lille fixture looks like a genuine opportunity to stake his claim. How he responds to Arteta's pointed praise of a teammate may go a long way to determining how much of the season he spends on the left flank rather than the bench.