Steven Gerrard has criticised Eberechi Eze’s penalty technique following Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to PSG in Budapest on Saturday, suggesting the midfielder complicated an already difficult task by relying on his trademark stuttering run-up in a shootout of such magnitude.
Arsenal came agonisingly close to completing one of the most remarkable seasons in English football history. Premier League champions, unbeaten in 14 Champions League matches, and yet the night ended in heartbreak at the Puskás Aréna as PSG held their nerve in a penalty shootout to retain their European crown.
Eze was the first Arsenal player to fail from the spot, sending his effort wide after deploying the hesitant, stutter-step approach that has become synonymous with his penalty taking throughout his career. Gabriel then missed the decisive kick, confirming PSG as winners, but it was Eze’s miss that first shifted the momentum in the shootout.
The technique itself is not new. Eze has used it consistently at club level, and it has worked on a number of occasions. But on the biggest stage in club football, with everything on the line, it provided the additional variable that Gerrard believes should have been removed entirely.
The criticism from the Liverpool legend will sting, but it has resonated with a significant portion of Arsenal’s fanbase, many of whom aired similar frustrations in the immediate aftermath.
Gerrard’s verdict on Eze’s penalty
Speaking as reported by the Metro, Gerrard was pointed in his assessment of the missed penalty, questioning the decision to add unnecessary complexity to a kick that already carried enormous pressure.
“Penalties are hard enough,” he said. “Think about the magnitude of the game, the stadium, the atmosphere, it’s hard enough without any of that nonsense. Put your foot through it, back your technique.”
The word “nonsense” is a strong one, and it will have landed sharply given the context. Gerrard knows what it is to miss a penalty in a defining moment and spoke with the authority of someone who has lived the experience.
His view is a straightforward one, in a shootout of this significance, the priority must be clean contact and conviction, not technique embellishment.
Eze’s first season at Arsenal has been a mixed one by his own high standards. Signed from Crystal Palace with considerable expectation, he has produced moments of genuine brilliance, but questions about his consistency, work rate, and suitability to Arteta’s defensive demands have been aired throughout the campaign.
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The penalty miss will not define his Arsenal career. Players of his quality recover from moments like this, and the summer will give him time to reset and prepare for what should be a more settled second season under Arteta.
But the criticism from Gerrard, and the wider scrutiny it reflects, serves as a reminder that Eze needs to produce more consistently next season to fully justify the faith Arsenal placed in him.
The talent is unquestionable. The application and impact, particularly in the biggest moments, must match it.
