Mikel Arteta turns to his unpredictable weapon to fix Arsenal attack

Fire was followed by ice at Arsenal 's training ground on Tuesday.

Mikel Arteta came out on the front foot, as he often does after a defeat.

He declared he is "on fire" and had "no fear" ahead of Arsenal's Champions League showdown with Sporting.

Calm was restored when Eberechi Eze then sat down for his press conference immediately after.

He sunk into his chair and spoke quietly but brilliantly, with the kind of self-confidence that the Arsenal squad desperately need in troubled times.

Eze is a boyhood Arsenal fan and joined the club's academy in 2006, the year the club reached the Champions League final for the first - and still only - time.

That Arsenal side had a big impact on Eze and two decades on he is still drawing inspiration from it.

"I think there was a certain level of confidence and not arrogance, but belief within that squad," Eze said.

"For me that's what football is about, going onto a pitch and believing you're that guy.

You're part of that team, for me that's the mentality.

They had that.

"That's something we've got as well, which is special to be a part of.

For sure something dreams are made of."
Arsenal need Eze to be "that guy" and provide the spark to get the club's season back on track.

The 27-year-old missed the Carabao Cup and FA Cup defeats with a calf injury and returned only to play 36 minutes against Bournemouth on Saturday.

With Bukayo Saka's comeback from an Achilles injury uncertain and Martin Odegaard battling fitness issues of his own , the creative burden is on Eze's shoulders.

He was building towards his best form before the injury, lashing in one of Arsenal's goals of the season against Bayer Leverkusen.

Much has been made of Eze's record at this time of the year, when his goalscoring rate more than doubles in March, April and May compared to the rest of the season.

A repeat of that in the coming weeks could be all it takes to get Arsenal over the line domestically and in Europe.

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Eze gave a revealing answer on Tuesday when asked about his style of play and staying true to that, even with all the demands that come with playing for this Arsenal side.

“I would say that it’s something you have to be conscious of all the time because you are in an environment and an industry which at times - if you are not careful - can pull you away from yourself," Eze said.

"I know that the reason why I’m here is because of the type of player that I am.

If I stop doing that then I’m no longer the player that I can be or the player that was even brought to Arsenal.

“As long as being myself, as long as I see the game how I want it to be played, as well as adding and supplementing what’s going on at the club, then that’s the perfect combination."
That feels key.

Eze needs to do the pressing and the tracking back to get in the line-up.

On the ball, though, he just needs to be himself.

When Arsenal are struggling to play through the press, as they have in the last four matches, Eze is capable of dropping deep to get on the ball.

He has the technical quality to take it in tight areas, drop a shoulder and get out of trouble.

At the other end, those shots from distance or off-the-cuff moments around the opposition box provide an unpredictable weapon to an Arsenal side that is far too often cautious and robotic in its approach.

Eze can be the difference-maker.

When at his best, there is a freedom to Eze's play, and that was embodied even at his press conference.

It was put to him that neutrals want Arsenal to fail this season.

Eze responded simply by telling them to prepare for disappointment.

"I just know that we’ve got a team that’s more than capable and has proven that we’re of the highest level.

When we do win it will be down to everyone to deal with that."