Eberechi Eze finally has his first goal in Arsenal colours, and it came in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night against Port Vale. Softfootball reports that the £60m signing from Crystal Palace struck inside eight minutes, finishing neatly after Gabriel Martinelli’s ball in and Lewis Skelly’s dummy slipped him through, to give the Gunners the early breakthrough they wanted.
It was the kind of moment Arsenal fans had been waiting for Eze, playing slightly deeper in midfield, looked lively throughout the first half and might have doubled his tally before the break, only for Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci to deny him with a smart save.
Mikel Arteta made nine changes from the side that faced Manchester City in the tight game that ended 1-1, and it showed at times. Arsenal saw plenty of the ball but lacked their usual sharpness in the final third. Bukayo Saka was handed just over an hour as part of his recovery from injury, a welcome boost for the manager, but overall it was a laboured performance.
In the game’s preview, Softfootball reported that the game will be tricky for the Gunners, and the League One side refused to roll over. Port Vale worked hard, grew in confidence after half-time and almost found a leveller when substitute Devante Cole curled an effort just over with 15 minutes left. That scare seemed to jolt Arsenal back into life.
Arsenal after the game, put up a poll for the best player of the match on their official X account, and Eberechi is leading by a mile.
With the tie still finely poised, Leandro Trossard settled it late on, racing onto a long ball over the top and firing low into the net to make it 2-0 and put the contest beyond doubt.
Arsenal’s record in this competition is modest; their last triumph was back in 1993 but Arteta will be pleased to see his squad players get minutes and, more importantly, see Eze break his duck. They head to Newcastle in the league on Sunday, while Port Vale return to domestic duty at Barnsley.
