Eze vows to take World Cup penalties again despite Champions League final miss

Eberechi Eze has declared he would take a penalty in a World Cup shoot-out without hesitation, brushing aside the heartbreak of his miss in Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.

“If called upon, for sure. Why wouldn’t I take it?” the Arsenal midfielder said when asked about stepping up for England at the World Cup. “All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these type of moments. I’m not going to stress too much about it because I know I’m in this position for a reason.”

Eze’s miss against PSG was not his first in a shoot-out. He also failed to convert when Arsenal lost the 2025 Community Shield to Liverpool on penalties, and his characteristic stuttering run-up has come under scrutiny after both misses. Despite that, Eze was clear he has no intention of overhauling his approach.

“I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,” he said. “You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I’m not going to change who I am.”

Far from dwelling on the PSG defeat, Eze framed the Champions League final experience as something to embrace. “Playing in a Champions League final is where I want to be, it’s what I want to do,” he said. “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 revealed he has received a wave of supportive messages from fellow players in the aftermath, and pointed to the composure of elite footballers as his benchmark. “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.”

Arsenal will return to the Champions League next season, and Eze was equally bullish about club ambitions. “We’ll go for it again next season and if there is a penalty to take then I’ll be there again,” he said.