Eberechi Eze is signing for Arsenal following a late push to hijack the deal from Tottenham Hotspur, who had already sealed an agreement with both Crystal Palace and the player.
Wednesday was a mixture of emotions for Arsenal and their fans. The day began with bad news as injuries to key players were confirmed, including a suspected long-term knee issue for Kai Havertz.
However, it ended with smiles. Not only are Arsenal signing a very important player in Eberechi Eze, who is returning home to the club more than a decade after being released from their Academy, but they have also snatched him from their noisy neighbors.
Tottenham. Slippery. Again.
Arsenal were keen on a reunion with Eberechi Eze earlier in the summer, but interest never progressed, even after enquiring about the player’s contract.
The signature of Noni Madueke from Chelsea appeared to have impacted a potential deal for the Crystal Palace maverick, and that opened the door for Tottenham, who were also interested, to take pole position, offering the Champions League football Eze desired.
Eze is a top-class player, so it was little surprise why many of the top clubs in need of a left winger weren’t moving for him. Spurs still presented a decent challenge, but they felt too confident in this deal, and eventually Arsenal returned to claim it.
Some may argue that Eze and his camp delayed the deal, but Spurs, knowing they were in for a marquee player and that competition from tier-one clubs could emerge at any time, should have pressed their advantage when Arsenal’s interest cooled. But then again, it’s Tottenham.
The same deal they spent two weeks working around, Arsenal got it done in less than two hours. Turns out the slowest clubs in the market also turn up in hours of desperation.
Arsenal Hijack Tottenham’s Move for Eberechi Eze
On the very day Spurs expected the deal to be closed, Arsenal woke up to the news that Kai Havertz would miss a significant part of the season due to a knee injury.
Immediately, the club returned to the market for a replacement, with Eze, an earlier target, top of the list. Contact was made with Palace, and when informed, Eze responded with a clear yes.
Ebrechi Eze, although not a direct replacement for Havertz, gives Mikel Arteta different options as he can play as a central midfielder, a number 10, and a left-winger. His arrival adds depth to different positions, and allows the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to be deployed as strikers.
Despite a prior agreement with Tottenham, the 27-year-old, who has never hidden his desire to return to Arsenal, remains unconcerned about Spurs’ frustrations, as they knew Arsenal was always his first choice.
That was it. Arsenal agreed to pay the £68 million negotiated by Spurs, and now the Englishman is just a medical away from completing a return to the club of his dreams, the one that gave him up in 2011.
Eze Choose Homecoming Over Money
Spurs reportedly offered the playmaker a better offer on personal terms than Arsenal, but there was nothing to persuade him from fulfilling his long-term dreams, not even the lure of money.
At Arsenal, Eze will likely take the No. 10 shirt, which has been vacant since the departure of Emile Smith Rowe last summer, and will unite with fellow England internationals Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Noni Madueke.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
