Arsenal paid a combined £120m for Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze and now, more than a year after the two England players arrived in north London, the time has come for Mikel Arteta to hand them the keys to his attack. With Bukayo Saka joining the injured Christos Tzolis in the treatment room, Eze and Madueke have been elevated from backups to starters.

Neither Madueke nor Eze has ever produced the consistency or sustained quality that Arsenal were hoping for when they joined from Chelsea and Crystal Palace respectively last summer. These are forwards who have shown moments of promise and glimpses of genius, without ever establishing themselves as anything more than squad players.

The counter-argument, which both players might make privately, is that it is hard to impress when you are not given a lengthy run of games. Both have started consecutive matches only once this season.

Well, it seems their opportunity to build some rhythm has now arrived. Wednesday’s trip to face Bayern Munich brought an entertaining 2-2 draw but also came at a considerable cost, as Saka hobbled off the pitch with a thigh injury. He looked in significant pain and moved extremely gingerly. “It does not look good at all,” Arteta said.

With Tzolis and Saka out, the left wing will probably become Eze’s domain and the right flank will become Madueke’s. For Madueke, it represents a chance to continue his recent upturn in form, in which he has impressed against Leeds United and score the winning goal at Nottingham Forest. He looked sharp against Bayern, too, and it was notable that he carried out his defensive work with diligence and discipline.

Eze will also take encouragement from the 2-2 draw in Munich. His accurate left-footed strike gave Arsenal the lead in the first half and was his second goal in three games, after he scored against Lille last week. The problem with Eze is that the match between these two European fixtures was a horrible one for him on a personal level, as he was hooked at half-time at Forest.

Such swings in performance are the nature of Eze as a player, but Arsenal now need more. They sold Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard in the summer and added only Tzolis, with the plan for Eze to play more frequently on that left flank. At £68m (including add-ons) he is the fourth-most expensive player in Arsenal’s history, and they will need him to perform like it in the games to come.

The unhappy reality for Arsenal is that they came into this season without the depth and quality they wanted in these wide positions. They tried to sign Morgan Rogers, and then Vinícius Júnior, but ended up with neither. It was already the position in which they were the most short, and that was before Tzolis and Saka got injured. The January window cannot come soon enough, but there are no guarantees the market will present the opportunities that Arsenal need and can afford.

There is another option for Arteta if Madueke and Eze fail to deliver what is required in the coming games. Max Dowman, the 16-year-old wonderkid, is fit and available. He has already demonstrated his game-changing abilities on numerous occasions, but Arteta has until now been reluctant to throw him into Premier League and Champions League action. So far this season, Dowman has played a combined 14 minutes in those two primary competitions.

Clearly, it is extremely difficult for a 16-year-old to meet the tactical and physical demands required of an Arsenal player in the Premier League. There are significant defensive requirements of every player in Arsenal’s system, including the forwards. Dowman will need to fully understand who to press, when to press, which angle to press at and who to mark at set-pieces. This has not been easy for Madueke and Eze, established senior internationals, and it certainly is not easy for Dowman.

The talent is unquestionably there, though, and Arsenal may have to lean on their teenager if Eze and Madueke cannot prove they are capable of stepping up in this time of need.