The 4/10 star had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt against Aston Villa

Arsenal have been the best team in the Premier League this season, but defeat to Aston Villa put a damper on their form, and Manchester City’s win over Sunderland reduced their advantage at the top of the table to just two points.

In truth, this may have been too much for Mikel Arteta’s men. The fixture schedule has been relentless, with Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba and Cristian Mosquera all missing the game at Villa Park due to injury.

And, to their credit, Villa are currently one of the most in-form teams in Europe, with seven consecutive wins in all competitions against the top teams in the Premier League.

But this felt like familiar territory for the Gunners, with some players in particular flattering and deceiving.

Arsenal’s worst performer vs Aston Villa

Arteta’s system is balanced and safe, as Arsenal have racked up points by repelling opponents and attacking clinically in many games this season.

But they came through last weekend at Stamford Bridge with a point after something of a slugfest. The win against Brentford in midweek clearly brought out something in the Londoners. They fought hard against a well-oiled and energetic Aston Villa team, but to no avail.

Top-flight Mikel Merino has enjoyed incredible moonlit success since joining the Emirates, with the midfielder-turned-forward venturing into danger zones this season, scoring four goals and providing three assists. But Unai Emery’s side did a good job of summarizing the man, who was an unknown in the first half, apart from a failed attempt to find the surging Bukayo Saka.

Victor Gokeres and Noni Madueke both changed the dimension of Arsenal’s attack in the second half, but neither enjoyed much playing time, with Gokeres in particular struggling on service, but he replaced Merino after the break and was an outstanding physical and mobile presence.

Arteta, on the other hand, demonstrated shrewd and calculated management by making a change at half-time, which immediately paid off, with Leandro Trossard again the trump card after Saka’s deflected shot.

However, the Spanish manager will be frustrated that one of his starting XI was unable to make the most of his chances after dropping from the starting 45th position.

4/10 star produced worst game for Arsenal

Arsenal have been a world-class unit this season and have added top-class talent this summer. Eberechi Eze is a superstar in the English game and was one of the players signed for £67m from Crystal Palace. However, he was not at his best against Aston Villa.

Remember, it was only a few days ago that Arsenal informed Eze that he had been named their player of the month for November after he qualified with a hat-trick in the north London derby.

But despite this, the England international has yet to show consistent form in the final third and a tough afternoon in the Midlands was proof that the player, who was such a fleet-footed talisman for Oliver Glasner at Palace, needs to improve his game.

Against Villa, the 27-year-old cheated, falling into Trossard’s break for goal, and Football London even gave him a match rating of 4/10 after a short-lived, ineffective display. Perhaps he failed to demonstrate any of his many qualities, which is why he endured perhaps his toughest game since joining.

With Martin Odegaard fit again, Eze will be forced into a wider field. Does this mean that his creativity and influence are fully unleashed from the middle? His speed suits him in a wide range of roles, but his athleticism and physicality also work well on the wing.

Eze is a passionate player. His only goal in the Premier League this season came in the derby against Crystal Palace, his former club Spurs, and it is telling that Thomas Frank was close to signing him before Arsenal took the plunge.

Eze needs to inject his creativity and acuity into the box. He needs to iron out the wrinkles. But before that, Arteta may want to put him on the bench to rekindle the fire to step up to the level he has shown he is capable of.