Eberechi Eze has insisted he’ll continue to take penalties for England and Arsenal despite his Champions League final miss, and he doesn’t plan to change his technique.
Eberechi Eze will be pleased with his debut Arsenal campaign overall, having won the Premier League whilst scoring some vital goals along the way, but the season ended on a sour note as his missed penalty helped Paris Saint-Germain to win the Champions League final shootout.
Eze’s penalty record isn’t bad, as he’s scored eight of the 10 he’s taken in normal time for QPR, the England u21s, and Crystal Palace. He’s yet to take one during an Arsenal match, and that’s not likely to change with Viktor Gyokeres around.
But with Eze’s latest miss against PSG, he’s only converted one of his three penalties in shootouts. He’d previously scored in a League Cup shootout against Bournemouth, but he missed in the Community Shield against Liverpool last summer.
Ahead of the World Cup, the question was put to Eze of whether he’d continue to step up in a potential England shootout this summer.
“If called upon, for sure. Why wouldn’t I take it?” Eze said. “All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these types of moments. I’ve had messages from everyone to speak on those moments.
“For me, it’s not something I wish never happened. I’m grateful it happened. I’m going to grow from it, learn from it and move forward.
“Football is full of everything and you have to try to accept everything as it is, to enjoy it as much as you can. Playing in a Champions League final is where I want to be, it’s what I want to do. We’ll go for it again next season and if there is a penalty to take then I’ll be there again.”
After missing his Champions League final penalty, there were also questions asked about Eze’s run-up, slow and stuttering.
It’s a technique he’s used successfully on a number of occasions in the past, but having now missed two in a row, might he switch it up for the next one?
“No, I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,” Eze responded when asked.
“You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I’m not going to stress too much about it because I know I’m in this position for a reason and all the training behind it.”
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