Rio Ferdinand explains how Eberechi Eze can improve his performances

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand talked about how Arsenal's Eberechi Eze can improve his output in the next few weeks.

Eze's season has been full of ups and downs. Obviously, scoring the hat-trick and brace against Tottenham over two games has reassured, but there is still a lot of work to be done because, as good as he was in those two games, Eze still has so much to improve on in terms of being able to provide that level over a long stretch of games.

This has been his problem so far this season because he has not hit the same levels that he was hitting at Crystal Palace on a consistent basis.

There have been a few games where he has not scored, and the Arsenal man has to improve sooner rather than later so that he can keep his place in the starting eleven, even after Martin Odegaard returns.

Rio Ferdinand explains how Eberechi Eze can improve his performances

Rio Ferdinand gave a lot of valuable feedback and talked about ways in which Eze can improve and play a bit more consistently, and his answer was actually really interesting. He was spot on with most of the things that he spoke about.

“I thought, up until the first goal against Tottenham, Eze was quiet. He just had two moments in the game. I think after the goal, he improved, but I was talking to my mates in the WhatsApp group about him, and we were saying, 'Why are we not seeing the best of Eze?'

“I just think his actual starting position is too high. I know he’s doing that to pin back the Spurs backline… I get that and why he’s doing it, but it’s actually going against him and being able to perform. Eze needs to face the game. He needs to see the game, face it and start probing.

“He needs to play one-twos, draw opponents out of their positions, 'Come and press me', and then play beyond them and run, a bit like he did for the second goal when Bukayo Saka fluffed his lines a bit and it fell to him and he finished it.”

Against Tottenham, he played really well after the goal, but before that he was a bit reserved and quiet in the first few minutes. He struggled to get into the game and help Arsenal escape Tottenham's pressure and break their low block down.

Eze is starting closer to Viktor Gyokeres than he is to Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi, and Ferdinand thinks that that is one of the main problems.

When Eze actually has the creative freedom to take the ball in midfield and dribble past players, that is when the player is at his best, and he has just not been able to do that consistently this season.

He needs to take the game by the scruff of its neck and start performing the way he used to for Crystal Palace.

Obviously, the system is different, and the team is different, and there is more defensive responsibility on Eze than there was at Crystal Palace, but there can still be adjustments made so that he is able to get the ball more often and be freer with his creativity.

It will definitely help Arsenal a lot if Eze is able to bring his best to the next few games because they could prove to be very important in terms of the title race.