Eberechi Eze makes England penalty claim after Arsenal heartbreak

Eberechi Eze says he would ‘for sure’ take a penalty for England at the World Cup following his missed attempt in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The 27-year-old midfielder – who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace last summer – fired wide with his stuttered effort, squandering the opportunity to put the Gunners’ 3-1 in front in last month’s nerve-jangling shootout in Budapest.

Moments later, Gabriel Magalhaes skied his spot-kick over the crossbar to hand victory to PSG, ensuring Luis Enrique’s men successfully defended their European crown – 12 months on from their thumping win over Inter Milan.

It came as a crushing blow to Arsenal, whose pursuit of Champions League glory will continue into next season following two losses in their two appearances in Champions League finals.

Mikel Arteta’s men did, though, manage to bring their wait for the Premier League title to an end just 11 days earlier, as Bournemouth stunned Manchester City to spark rapturous scenes in north London.

It would have come to a relief to Eze that his wayward penalty ultimately had no affect when it came to his World Cup chances, with Thomas Tuchel naming the Arsenal star in his 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament.

It remains to be seen if Eze will feature in England’s opening Group L match against Croatia at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium on Wednesday night.

Asked if he would be prepared to step up should the Three Lions find themselves in a shootout, Eze replied: ‘If called upon, for sure. Why wouldn’t I take it?

‘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. All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these type 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.’

Eze is keen to put his Champions League heartache in the past and use the experience as ‘part of the journey’ in his footballing development.

‘I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,’ he added.

‘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.

‘Honestly before even speaking to other players, you can see the way big players carry themselves. You step up, you do what you need to do.

‘If you miss, you miss. If you score, you score. It’s having the mentality to keep going. That’s part of the journey.’

After unveiling his squad for the World Cup, Tuchel made it clear Eze had the full support his team-mates and England’s coaching staff.

‘It’s painful for Ebs but of course, I will take care of it, the group will take care of him and I think the extra week they had will help a lot,’ the German told reporters.

‘They’ve absolutely had a great season. They should know that a final just comes down to one or two shots in a penalty shoot-out which means it cannot be closer. At some point, a winner has to be found.

‘I have lost some finals in a penalty shoot-out and it’s the closest way to lose and it hurts, of course. It hurts a lot to lose big finals but a penalty means you did everything right. It couldn’t be closer.

‘But it also means you were absolutely on the same level with maybe the best team in the world at the moment.’

Eze was one of four Arsenal players named in the Three Lions’ 26-man party, along with Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Declan Rice – who was announced as Harry Kane’s vice-captain last week.

‘I’m very happy that they got the title in England,’ Tuchel said of the Arsenal quartet.

‘I think that took a lot of weight off their shoulders and they were aware they did what they could and they were very close in the final.

‘I haven’t spoken to them. I think they got a lot of messages and spoke to a lot of people.

‘I thought I would just leave them to themselves, so they could be proud of what they achieved.

Tuchel went on: ‘We spoke after their title in the Premier League, which was the big target and I think that was the main target.

‘We’re in good spirits, so this is normally what helps and I think they’re very well aware of what they achieved this season.’

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