Arsenal Dominates Coventry City 3-0: Walcott Analyzes Eze's Late Free-Kick
Theo Walcott believes one late decision from Eberechi Eze will have irritated Mikel Arteta despite Arsenal strolling to a 3-0 win over Coventry City on Friday night.
The Premier League champions opened their title defence with authority at the Emirates Stadium. Kai Havertz struck, Bukayo Saka did what Bukayo Saka does, and Martin Odegaard added the gloss. It looked ruthless, controlled, exactly the sort of statement Arteta demands in week one.
Eze’s night, though, told a different story.
Brought on with 14 minutes to play, the summer arrival had a brief window to catch his manager’s eye. Instead, he let fly with a speculative long-range free-kick in the closing stages that sailed high over the bar. For Walcott, watching on for Premier League Productions, that single moment cut against everything Arteta is trying to build.
“Creating that winning mentality is so important for this team because as soon as you start those habits it’s hard for these teams,” Walcott said. Coventry felt that shift. “You saw Coventry, they didn’t know what to do at times, there were too big gaps, too big spaces.”
Arsenal, he felt, still had more in reserve.
“Arsenal, when they play with the handbrake off, I wanted to see a little bit more, I felt Arsenal have so more gears to go into and that’s great.”
The champions cruised, but the real battle has already started inside Arteta’s squad. The bench is stacked, minutes are precious, and every cameo is an audition.
“Even when the substitutions came on, that’s when their chances are to show Mikel, ‘don’t forget about me’,” Walcott said. “I felt some could have done a little bit more coming on maybe, but it’s the first game of the season and you’ve got to give them the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s just a reminder to the guys who aren’t starting that it’s a big, deep squad. If you want to be in that starting line-up, there are standards that Mikel will be looking into.”
That is where Eze’s late free-kick comes back into focus. With the game won but standards still high, Walcott believes Arteta will have filed that decision away.
“Eze having that shot at the end… I’m not sure he [Arteta] will be happy with that,” Walcott said. “I know it’s such a small thing but these are little details that he will look into each individual player if he’s going to be with them throughout the season, that’s just a sign to see.”
While Eze’s choice drew scrutiny, another new face earned praise.
Christos Tzolis, making his first Premier League appearance for Arsenal after a £34 million move from Club Brugge, impressed Walcott with his directness and intent.
“I like him a lot, he reminds me of Alexi [Sanchez],” Walcott said. The comparison is not a light one. “The reason why I say that, when he gets the ball his first touch is positive, his first thought is forward, attack the full-back. Alexi would always give the full-back a headache and even wearing the number 17 reminds he of him, I know he moved to the number seven when Tomas Rosicky moved on.”
The echoes go beyond the shirt number.
“There’s something about the way he moves with the ball, he glides on the field, they want to keep on giving it to him as well,” Walcott added. “I think you can see the confidence is growing and growing, he has go a bit more pace about him than Trossard does, so he’s a bit of a hybrid between Trossard and Alexis.
“But very impressed, when he gets fitter and players get to know his game a lot more, but I like what I see so far, really impressed.”
Arsenal’s opening night, then: a comfortable win, a reminder of the champions’ depth, a new winger drawing Alexis Sanchez parallels, and a quiet warning that even a single wayward free-kick can shape a season’s pecking order.
