Eberechi Eze earns Arsenal reprieve vs Lille but raises questions about his supporting cast

Eberechi Eze produced a typical Eberechi Eze performance for Arsenal against Lille on Tuesday night at the Emirates.

Quiet for long periods, the former Crystal Palace man flittered in and out of the game in N5. He has a tendency to find himself completely uninvolved for long stretches, despite boasting elite technical quality.

However, out of nowhere, he came alive for a short stretch in the second half and ultimately scored a decisive goal to extend Arsenal's lead and see the Gunners home. Latching on to Bukayo Saka's cut-back, he expertly dispatched the ball with his weaker foot.

While his ability to turn it on might seem random and thus incredibly frustrating for those who are huge admirers of his talent, it might not actually be quite as random as it seems.

Eberechi Eze doesn't work with Arsenal's back-up attackers

Eze likes to operate in tight spaces, feeding off players on the same wavelength. Alongside his long-range shooting, his best attributes are his ability to combine quickly and intricately with those around him.

This is a problem for Arsenal because of where the 28-year-old finds himself in the pecking order at the moment. Behind Christos Tzolis as the second-choice left-winger, Eze is often on the pitch at the same time as the likes of Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres.

His last two starts have been alongside these two players in a front three, while Mikel Merino is often the number ten in this second team set-up. Unfortunately, these players don't cater to Eze's strengths.

Gyokeres' technical deficiencies mean Eze has little hope of combining with the Swede in tight spaces. The striker thrives off direct balls to run onto in the channels - a pass Eze doesn't really like to play very often.

Meanwhile, Madueke is another whose technical level can be questioned. The winger likes carrying the ball into space, but, like Gyokeres, struggles when the spaces are compressed and he needs to play quick, accurate passes against a compact block.

As for Merino, while the Spaniard can play aggressive passes between the lines, his game is centred around his physicality, duel-winning and ability to crash the box with late runs.

Clearly, this back-up front four isn't tailored to maximising Eze's threat, and this was on show in the first half against Lille. So often, Eze would look to come inside from the touchline and play quick give and gos with his teammates, but the cohesiveness between the forward players simply wasn't there.

Eberechi Eze dovetails nicely with Arsenal's star attackers

As soon as the cavalry arrived on Tuesday night, Eze looked like a different player. The introduction of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard gave the £68 million man players to bounce off.

He had players surrounding him who were capable of receiving the ball in tight spaces, laying it off and making sharp movements to receive it back. The type of players who would've excelled in an Arsene Wenger team.

The technical level of the entire frontline came up, and that directly raised Eze's level.

This is why Arteta should entrust Eze to start on the left in Tzolis' absence. The Greek international isn't expected back for at least another few weeks, so the Gunners need a left-wing solution for upcoming games against Nottingham Forest, Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Eze may not be an archetypal touchline wide man, but he can be threatening when he is combining with technical players on his wavelength.

Sometimes, players' performances are all about finding the right alchemy for them.