Jamie Carragher has issued a public apology to Arsenal star Eberechi Eze following his breathtaking performance in Sunday's north London derby, where the England international scored a historic hat-trick against Tottenham.
Derby Debut to Remember
The Gunners' derby debutant became the undisputed star of the show at the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta's side romped to a 4-1 victory against their struggling rivals. Eze's remarkable achievement marked the first hat-trick in this fixture since 1978, writing his name into derby folklore.
This represented a significant sliding-doors moment for the forward, who had come close to joining Arsenal's hated rivals Tottenham when preparing to leave Crystal Palace this summer. Instead, Eze returned to his boyhood club Arsenal in a £60 million move that reportedly caught Spurs by surprise.
Carragher's Change of Heart
The transfer had been somewhat underplayed by Carragher in his initial assessment of summer business, but the Sky Sports pundit was quick to clear the air after witnessing Eze's command performance.
"I must be honest. In the summer when Arsenal signed him, and I had my Liverpool hat on, and I looked at the signings Arsenal made... they signed Victor Gyokeres. It felt like a lot of them were to strengthen the squad, really," Carragher explained during his punditry duties.
He elaborated further: "Where Arsenal had problems the year before was when Bukayo Saka was out, so they brought in Noni Madueke. Martin Odegaard was out, so they got Eze. One of the centre-backs was missing, so they got a couple of centre-backs."
Carragher admitted that initially, he believed only Gyokeres would immediately break into the starting lineup, suggesting that Kai Havertz would likely be preferred as centre-forward if fully fit.
From Squad Player to Gamechanger
"When Eze came in, I thought, 'Okay, maybe it's not a gamechanger'. We've seen some of his highlights this season, there's been a few great goals in there. And then he goes and scores a hat-trick," Carragher confessed.
His conclusion was unequivocal: "So, apologies. I certainly undervalued the importance that signing was, because he looks like he could make the real difference for Arsenal and go on and win the title."
Eze has seized his opportunity in the absence of Havertz, who continues to struggle with recovery after undergoing minor surgery at the season's start. The forward has now started Arsenal's last seven matches and has been in exceptional goalscoring form, having netted six times in his 10 Premier League appearances.
After the match, Eze revealed he had actually prayed to score a hat-trick before kick-off, though he refused to be drawn on what might have been had he joined Tottenham instead.
"That is crazy," Eze told Match of the Day. "Special day, man. Special day for me, my family. I don't think I could've ever dreamt of it. This is more special than that. I can only thank God. Special day, man."
Despite Eze's astonishment at his derby achievements, manager Mikel Arteta suggested his tally could have been even higher, praising his player's ability to create "magic moments which unbalance a team."
