Mikel Arteta handed Eberechi Eze warning as he scores first Arsenal goal

Mikel Arteta must start Eberechi Eze in Arsenal’s big games.

That’s the view of talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor who has warned the Gunners’ boss against dropping the winger in the club’s crunch fixtures.

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Eze opened his account for the Gunners on Wednesday night in their 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Port Vale.

The former Crystal Palace man latched onto a Myles Lewis-Skelly backheel before delivering a superb side foot finish to fire his side head in the eighth minute.

It was his third start for Arsenal since his £65miliion arrival last month.

He was handed his first start in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month and kept his place in the starting XI for last week’s Champions League opener against Athletic Club.

But Arteta opted to drop Eze to the bench for last Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City in favour of Leandro Trossard.

What is Agbonlahor’s take on Arteta’s use of Eze so far?

Former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor heaped praise on Eze following his performance at Port Vale and urged Arteta to trust his summer recruit on the big stage.

“He just drifts past players, he’s got elegance and class,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.

“He looks like he’s in the playground with his mates at school just having a bit of fun. That’s the sort of player that Arsenal and England need.”

Agbonlahor then issued a plea to the Arsenal boss: “Please Mikel Arteta do not drop him for the big games like he did on the weekend.”

Arsenal face a busy spell of fixtures during the early autumn period with key Premier League and Champions League matches on the horizon.

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It remains to be seen whether Arteta will take Agbonlahor’s views into consideration.

And that decision could come as early as Sunday when Arsenal travel to Newcastle in the Premier League.

The Gunners face a Champions League double header next month when Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid head to the Emirates.

While a triple-header of London derbies take place when Arsenal take on West ham, Fulham and Eze’s former employers Crystal Palace.

What was Arteta’s summary of Eze’s first month at Arsenal?

Meanwhile, Arteta was delighted to see Eze get off the mark at Vale Park but admits the winger needs more time to establish a better understanding with his new teammates.

“He played very centrally against a team that went 5-4-1, super-compact inside, it’s not easy to find the space but he’s very capable with the goal and with another three or four actions that he is completely through and [playing] people through,” Arteta said.

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“He needs to still play more time a little bit with those guys to understand the timings, especially the things that he needs to do, and then actions like that will be more consistent and better for us.

“In general very good, there is still a lot more to give I think.”

“At the end what we want to do with him is to get him in positions, in spaces that he can create his magic moments,” Arteta said.

“Some of that will be from the wide areas, some of that will be from the right or left in relation to the opposition as well.”