Crouch slams ‘no influence’ Arsenal ‘passenger’; picks three reasons to ‘criticise’ Arteta
Peter Crouch says Eberechi Eze was a “passenger” for Arsenal in their draw with Brentford on Thursday and picked out three reasons to criticise Mikel Arteta.
Noni Madueke scored the opening goal for Arsenal on the hour mark after a truly awful first half from Mikel Arteta’s side, brilliantly planting a header from Piero Hincapie’s cross past Caoimhin Kelleher.
But Brentford hit back through Keane Lewis-Potter’s header from a long throw and will feel hard done by with just a point after Igor Thiago missed a couple of chances late on having bullied Arsenal for most of the evening.
READ MORE: Arteta as meek as his panic-stricken players as Arsenal bullied by brilliant Brentford
Eze was hooked at the break and replaced by captain Martin Odegaard, and Crouch wasn’t in the least surprised that Arteta decided to bring the England international off.
Asked whether he understood Arteta’s half-time change, Crouch told TNT Sports: “Yeah, Eze couldn’t get on the ball or make things work, he couldn’t make things tick.
“Defensively he’s probably not as good as Martin Odegaard either, he doesn’t get around the pitch quick as much.
“It’s disappointing for Eze, he’s not played many games and has not managed to make an influence at all.”
Asked about Eze’s stuttering start to life at Arsenal, Crouch added: “He got a start today but he just felt off the boil. He couldn’t get on the ball.
“I felt for him because he couldn’t get on the ball and he doesn’t give you what Odegaard does in terms of pressing and off the ball.
“He was a bit of a passenger if I’m being perfectly honest. We called it half an hour in that he was going to come off because for some reason he [Arteta] doesn’t seem to fancy him at the moment.”
Crouch also hinted that Arteta will come under severe pressure if he fails to get Arsenal “over the line” this season, thanks to the “lack of quality” opposition in the title race.
He added: “Every year you’re in the job you learn more. The criticism he [Mikel Arteta] gets, he has the best squad in the league, he has a good group of players now, he has been in the job a long time. I don’t think there are top, top teams in the league now.
“Man City are not the Man City of old, Liverpool aren’t, Manchester United aren’t what they have been, Chelsea the same. There is a lack of quality in the top areas [of the league]. The bar has been set high in the past years. Now is a real opportunity for Arsenal. If they don’t get over the line, there needs to be more questions answered.”