Michael Owen expects Mikel Arteta to drop Arsenal signing against Chelsea
Ex-England striker Michael Owen says Eberechi Eze ‘did more’ than Christos Tzolis in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa and earned himself a chance to start against Chelsea next weekend.
Arsenal broke a spirited Villa resistance in the 59th minute as Riccardo Calafiori crossed for Bukayo Saka, who scrambled the ball home from close range to score his second of the Premier League season.
Tzolis, Arsenal’s £34m summer signing from Club Brugge, had struggled to make inroads against Matty Cash in the first half and Arteta sent Eze on in place of the Greece international in the hope of added some much-needed impetus on the left flank.
The half-time substitution proved a masterstroke, with Eze looking lively from the off and providing a pinpoint ball for Calafiori in the immediate build-up to Saka’s crucial breakthrough at Villa Park.
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Zion Suzuki prevented Kai Havertz from doubling the Gunners’ lead late on but the visitors held firm to emerge from the gritty contest with all three points to maintain their 100 per cent start.
The reigning champions will hope to pick up where they left off when they return to action against bitter rivals Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.
‘It will be interesting to see if Eze keeps his place against Chelsea at the weekend,’ Owen said as he dissected Arsenal’s display in the Premier League Productions studio.
‘I would suggest he might, he certainly did more than Tzolis in the game today.’
Ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown was similarly impressed by Eze’s 45-minute showing, claiming the England international was an ‘upgrade’ on Tzolis when he was introduced.
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‘Without a doubt [Eze’s introduction was important]. You need players you can turn to,’ Keown chimed in.
‘Two players exiting the club in Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on that left-hand side with Christos Tzolis coming in.
‘Not nearly the performance from him [Tzolis] that we saw in the first match [against Coventry] but Eze gives you that option on the left-hand side.
‘I just sense that he’s a player that is hurting a little bit. The manager probably picked that up, “Go on, show us what you can do”, and certainly from an attacking point of view I thought he improved things for Arsenal.
‘He naturally wants to end up more centrally and he’s very clinical given the opportunity so I think he was an upgrade when he came on.’
On the evidence of Arsenal’s two opening matches, Owen – who won the Premier League title with Manchester United in 2011 – suggested it would take something special from a title rival to ‘topple’ Arteta’s men.
‘If any team is looking at Arsenal and thinking there’s any chinks in their armour this season, they would have watched those two first games and seen them easily swat Coventry aside,’ he added.
‘They’ve then gone to a tough place in Villa Park and ground it out. They’ve shown both sides to their game.
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‘There was a little bit of flair in the first game and then a gritty performance today in the second game.
‘They’re not going away and it’s going to take a mighty performance by somebody to topple them this season.’
The result at Villa Park moved Arsenal level on points at the top of the table with last year’s runners-up Manchester City, Chelsea and newly promoted Hull City.
Sergej Jakirovic’s Hull side are the only other team yet to concede a goal after recording clean sheets against both Manchester United and fellow new boys Coventry.
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Article source: https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/31/michael-owen-expects-mikel-arteta-drop-arsenal-signing-chelsea-29505060/