Ebeki Eze was expected to join Tottenham, but North London rival Arsenal intervened to land a midfielder from Crystal Palace, with a move of £67.5 million
Eberechi Eze has admitted that playing for Arsenal is always a dream after tasting a move to Tottenham in favor of a £67.5m switch to Emirates Stadium. The former Crystal Palace midfielder was presented to the Emirates crowd in minutes before Leeds’ job in Arsenal’s 5-0 demolition, with the gunners firing at the early vision of the Premier League summit.
Tottenham was set to capture Eze after reaching an agreement with Crystal Palace on Wednesday. It was always possible given that a former Arsenal trainee took part in the last two years of deals at Selhurst Park this summer, and Tottenham first moved out earlier this month.
Eze played four times for the Emirates between his spell with the Palace and he admitted that playing in the Gunners shirt was always a dream. “I came back the moment I realized the other clubs and thought about what it meant to be a pro,” he revealed to Ian Wright. “I always thought: ‘Arsenal is where it is, that’s what I want to achieve, what I want to go.”
“To be honest, I’ve been on trial for four years. Every time I came to Arsenal, I saw the seat I sat when I was in the game with my brother. I’m not saying I knew it would happen, but that’s a feeling.
“As a player, I have a level of belief in myself. I’ve been developing this to see how I play and I believe it will happen if it’s going to happen.
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The Gunners are able to land neighbor Tottenham after Kai Herberts injured his knee last weekend and keep him on the sidelines for three months. Before that, Arsenal, which had already spent more than £200 million in his transfer period, had cooled his interest in Eze.
That meant the Spurs were confident in sealing the deal for him before Arsenal transfer chief Andrea Berta shrouded his team’s interest and pulled the carpet from the feet of their biggest rivals earlier this week.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank saw the team win at Manchester City at lunch on Saturday and spoke openly about wanting to sign a player who is eager to represent the club on Friday. He wants to add another creative midfielder to his team as he injured James Madison and Dejan Crucevsky, who are likely to go out in the season.
“There were a lot of links. There are a lot of links in the future. To make it very clear, to make it very clear, I don’t want players who don’t want to come to the club,” Frank said.
“People who don’t want to come to the club and wear this amazing badge don’t want them here, I think that’s very clear.
“If fans don’t want to put fantastical shirts on their heads, I’m sure they’ll feel the same. Play for badges and play in the club. Really enjoy it. It’s fine.
“Of course, you need to do everything you can to make sure you’re as competitive as possible. Krucevsky, he’s back this season. I think that’s a big deal. Unfortunately, Madison is a long-term thing, but I’m pretty sure you’ll sign the player before the end of the window.”
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