Oliver Glasner explains why Crystal Palace don't miss Eberechi Eze ahead of Arsenal clash

Eberechi Eze has one goal and three assists in 12 games since leaving Crystal Palace for Arsenal (Photo: Getty)

Eberechi Eze is set to play against his former club for the first time when Arsenal take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

But while Oliver Glasner was full of praise for his former player, the Eagles manager claims he’s not missing the England international too much after his mixed start to life at the Emirates .

The attacking midfielder returned to his boyhood club in August, leaving south London in a transfer worth up to £67.5million, though he’s not hit the ground running.

Eze has three assists in his first 12 Gunners appearances, including one in the 4-0 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid during the week, with his only goal coming against Port Vale in the Carabao Cup.

While hardly playing badly, more was expected of the 27-year-old, while Palace have not been negatively impacted by his departure, losing just one of their eight league games

In fact, the Eagles look more creative than ever, boasting the most expected goals in the top-flight, a fact Glasner was keen to point out when asked about Eze in his pre-match press conference.

‘Sometimes, especially after such an emotional game or such a disappointing defeat, it’s good to look at the facts,’ the Austrian said.

Yeremy Pino has eased the departure of Eze somewhat (Photo: Getty)

‘I always look at the stats and we have the highest xG in the Premier League . Crystal Palace, after selling Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze and bringing in Yeremy Pino and Ismaila Sarr, have the highest xG in the whole Premier League in front of City, Arsenal, Liverpool and all these teams.

‘This is a credit to the team, not to the individuals. The whole team. It just shows how much effort the team put in every single game.

‘Yes, of course, everybody who likes Crystal Palace would like to have Michael and Ebs still in the squad. But on the other side, it shows that we can also create enough chances to score goals.’

While Palace’s creativity is outstanding, their poor finishing has become a problem, most recently when they embarrassingly lost 1-0 to Cypriot club AEK Larnaca in the Conference League despite dominating the game.

And that is one aspect where it could be argued they are missing Eze, who last season scored 14 goals including the winner in the FA Cup final.

‘In Eberechi, we lost a player who could decide games on his own with one situation,’ Glasner added.

Oliver Glasner called Eze ‘a fantastic player and even more fantastic person’ (Photo: Getty)

‘We lost a fantastic player and even more fantastic person. Looking forward to seeing him, but no friendship during the game.’

Ahead of the London derby, Mikel Arteta also said the match would be a great occasion for Eze: ‘It’s a big game for us and last season we dropped some points.

The focus is on that. For Ebs it will be a very special match. But the focus is on the team.

‘There is something in your tummy, obviously. There is history, there are a lot of emotions, there are very close relationships. In my opinion, once you step in there and you go with that mindset, you have even more will to win.

‘Because, as well, you made that decision here to be successful and to achieve something else in your career. I’m sure Ebs are going to be ready for that.’