"He's been a ghost lately", "Unreal how mid he is" - Fans slam Arsenal star despite penalty shootout win against Palace in EFL Cup clash

Arsenal fans on X are tearing into Eberechi Eze for his performance during their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace. The midfielder delivered an underwhelming display against his former club as the Gunners booked their place in the semi-finals of the competition following a penalty shoot-out victory.

The Gunners dictated proceedings from the outset but were unable to find the breakthrough before the break. After a goalless first half, manager Mikel Arteta sent in fresh legs to intensify his side's hunt for a goal.

After much probing, Arsenal finally broke the deadlock in the 80th minute in fortuitous fashion. Bukayo Saka’s corner from the right was met well by Riccardo Calafiori, but the ball deflected off Maxence Lacroix and into the net for a Palace own goal.

It appeared as though Arteta’s side had sealed the win in regulation time, but Marc Guehi had the final say, slotting home from close range to send the game to penalties. Arsenal converted all eight of their spot kicks, with Kepa Arrizabalaga proving decisive by denying Lacroix to hand the Gunners an 8-7 victory in a marathon penalty shootout.

Eze, who was on the scoresheet against his old club back in October, endured a quiet outing on Tuesday, and was substituted in the second half. During the 67 minutes he spent on the pitch, the England international lost possession six times and failed to complete either of his two attempted dribbles. After the match, fans took to X to slam him, with one writing:

“He's [Eze] been a ghost lately, honestly. hope he bounces back soon.”

Another tweeted:

“This brother completely zoned out after scoring a hat trick.”

A third added:

“I can see why Hale End released Eze.”

One remarked:

“Unreal how mid Eze is tbh.”

“We are where we want to be” – Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s Carabao Cup win over Palace

Mikel Arteta expressed satisfaction after his team defeated Palace to set up a Carabao semi-final clash against Chelsea. The Spaniard felt his boys should have scored more goals, although the acknowledged that Palace are not an easy side to break down. He told Sky Sports:

“Very happy to be in the semi-final. We played against a team that is very difficult to generate chances against. We generated a lot and should have scored many more goals than the one we scored. When you don’t close the games, it [conceding] can always happen. A set-piece, a long throw or a wide free-kick, it can happen. I think the players were so composed with the penalties and in the end, Kepa managed to save one. We are where we want to be.”

Arsenal will play the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash away from home on January 14 before hosting the return leg at the Emirates Stadium on February 3.

Edited by Ezekiel Olamide