Micah Richards says why he thinks Eberechi Eze didn’t start for Arsenal against Man City

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Despite the ability he’s already shown in an Arsenal shirt, Mikel Arteta decided to leave Eberechi Eze on the bench from the start against Manchester City.

Instead of starting Eberechi Eze or even Gabriel Martinelli on the left, the Arsenal manager opted for Leandro Trossard.

Trossard hadn’t started a Premier League game this season prior, he’s mainly been limited to cameos from the bench.

However, in a game of such magnitude, Arteta decided to pick the Belgian ahead of Eze, a decision that might have confused one or two Arsenal fans.

Ian Wright criticised Arteta’s team selection following full-time and it eventually seemed clear that the Spaniard had got it wrong.

Micah Richards thinks Eberechi Eze might need to improve defensively at Arsenal

That being said, when speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Micah Richards presented his theory as to why Eze was left out of the starting XI.

Richards recognised that everyone was ‘surprised’ by Arteta’s decision to leave Eze and Martinelli out.

But when analysing Eze’s efforts in the Champions League in midweek, Richards thought he knew why the England international wasn’t deemed ready to face City.

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Richards said: “The whole debate before the game was who was going to play on that left hand side. 

“Obviously Martinelli against Athletic Club scored in that game, I mean, is he going to play Eze there? He went with Trossard.”

Lineker interjected: “I was really surprised at that.”

Richards: “Everyone was surprised, we were thinking, but if you actually look in the game, Eze against Athletic Club, basically his defensive work wasn’t right at times.

“He didn’t know when to push up or when to drop, but he’s a luxury, not a luxury player, but he’s a player who wants to get on the ball.

“He doesn’t want to spend a load of time running back, so I understand maybe he thought, I’m going to get overrun by Man City today, maybe that’s the reason why he went there.”

Mikel Arteta might repeat his Gabriel Martinelli mistake with Eberechi Eze

In terms of Eze’s impact against Man City, the midfielder changed the game because he was willing to take a risk with the ball – he was the antithesis of some of his more regimented teammates.

And that’s something Arteta needs to encourage rather than cut out.

Just a couple of seasons ago, Martinelli was a raw and fearless winger, someone who was obsessed with beating his full-back one versus one – he wasn’t afraid to lose the ball.

But fast forward to 2025 and Martinelli is a defensive winger of sorts, he’s now so crucial to Arsenal’s team shape without the ball.

And despite Martinelli’s brilliant goals in behind both Athletic and City’s defences last week, it is now a sight seldom seen.

Arsenal need to protect Eze’s maverick-like qualities, that’s the reason they spent so much money on his arrival in the first place.

Perhaps Eze can improve defensively without losing his creative talents, but it’s a tricky one to balance – just ask Jack Grealish during his time at City.