Eberechi Eze exclusive: 'I think if Bukayo Saka took the time to actually practice, he could be a great chess player. He's methodical and a great decision-maker'

Arsenal star and New Balance athlete Eberechi Eze has been speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively ahead of the Champions League final.

Eze has enjoyed a phenomenal first season back at his boyhood club, winning the Premier League at Arsenal and getting called up to Thomas Tuchel's England squad for World Cup 2026.

But with the midfielder famously into chess – and having squared off against grandmaster Magnus Carlsen for a game courtesy of a New Balance campaign – we asked him which of his team-mates would have the skills to move from the pitch to the board.

Eberechi Eze exclusive: 'Bukayo Saka would make a great chess player'

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“It was very cool playing against Magnus Carlsen,” Eze says now. “Obviously, I had one real game with him off-camera, which was over so quick. I thought I would put up a better fight, but when you realise the type of level that these guys are playing at, it's actually not even close, it's not even comparable.

“I learned a lot, though. He gave me some good tips that I'm using to kill my friends!”

Chess isn't widely played at Arsenal's base in London Colney, but the England international has nominated Bukayo Saka as having the best potential of any of his team-mates to become a chess master.

“I think if he took the time to actually practice, Bukayo would be tough because he's intelligent and competitive,” Eze tells us.

“Noni Madueke as well, but I think B more: he's got that type of temperament to play chess. He’s quite methodical when he's on the pitch, he's a good decision-maker. I reckon he'd be good.”

Eze tells us now that working with New Balance simply “felt like a new opportunity”, and with the brand focusing on community campaigns, Eze's pathway of working his way up the lower leagues to becoming a Premier League champion feels particularly apt for the collaboration.

“Yeah, I'd say it's very fitting with my story, my journey, where I've come from,” the Gunners star says.

“I just think that we were very aligned from the start. From the picture that they had of me, the plans they had, it was clear it was gonna be a fit that would work and something that would be long-lasting as well.

“Yeah, it's been a special journey for sure.”