Why Eberechi Eze Could Be The Missing Piece In Arsenal’s Jigsaw

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 17: Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace celebrates with the trophy after winning the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on May 17, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)

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The first north London derby of the season is still three months away, but Arsenal have already got one over Tottenham Hotspur this season.

On Wednesday, the Gunners agreed terms to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace for £67.5m ($90.6m), nabbing from under the nose of their arch-rivals in the process.

Tottenham had reached a deal to sign the 27-year-old for the same fee last weekend, just days after Eze’s £68m release clause had expired.

But just as the England international looked poised to join Spurs, Arsenal hijacked the move and convinced him to return to the club he had left at 13.

Eze’s arrival may not be met by the level of hysteria that welcomed the signing of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid back in 2013, when Arsenal fans celebrated in the streets around the Emirates Stadium as though the club had just won a trophy.

And yet, this signing feels a landmark moment for the Gunners.

Eze has already been immortalized in a mural on a wall close to the Emirates and the manner in which Arsenal gazumped Tottenham to seal the deal is the latest addition to the rich tapestry that is the rivalry between the two clubs.

But there is more to this than just bragging rights.

Arsenal were distinctly pedestrian in their 1-0 win against Manchester United in their Premier League opener on Sunday, with new signing Viktor Gyokeres still looking out of sync with the rest of team after his $86m move from Sporting Club.

Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 matches in all competitions last season in Portugal and was brought in to provide an upgrade on Kai Havertz, who was Arsenal’s top scorer in the Premier League despite scoring just nine goals.

The German played only 30 minutes on Sunday and suffered a knee injury that Arsenal fear may keep him sidelined for a lengthy period of time.

In January, Mikel Arteta decided against signing another forward as a back-up for Havertz, who suffered a hamstring injury a month later and missed 18 matches as a result.

With Gabriel Jesus sidelined with a serious knee injury, Arteta had to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino as emergency striker.

This time Arsenal acted swiftly and signed Eze, who is expected to take some of the pressure off Gyokeres, while the Swede finds his feet in his first campaign in the Premier League.

Where will Eberechi Eze fit in at Arsenal?

Eze scored 14 goals and recorded 12 assists in all competitions last season for Palace, after netting 11 and 10 goals in the previous two Premier League campaigns.

He is also one of the last mavericks in football, a player who cannot be constrained by a tactical straightjacket.

“Why do I run with the ball? Why do I try things? Why am I creative? Why do I do things that maybe players wouldn’t think to do?,” Eze told BBC Sport before the FA Cup final in May.

“The reason is for the people who are watching.

“It’s what you’re doing to people in the stands and how you can get people off their feet; that’s what football’s about.

“It feels like football is starting to shift a bit, and there’s maybe not as much of that, but as long as I play, that’s all I want to do.”

While that will be music to the ears of Arsenal fans, it also helps explain why Arteta wanted to sign him.

Eze’s arrival adds a whole new dimension to Arsenal’s attack, which has often struggled to unlock teams that have been happy to sit deep in a low block.

Assuming Martin Odegaard will retain his No10 spot and Bukayo Saka will continue as the first-choice right winger, Eze should make the left wing spot his own and represents an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli.

But he could also operate centrally and even just off Gyokeres, should Arteta opt for a formation with two strikers up top.

In many ways, Eze feels a throwback Arsenal player, the kind of footballer blessed with supreme technique and control in tight spaces, rather than the more imposing figures like Declan Rice and Merino that Arteta has recruited.

Can Mikel Arteta deliver trophies?

The Arsenal manager has spent at least £80m ($107m) in each of his five full seasons in charge at the Emirates.

Aside from Gyokeres and Eze, the Gunners signed Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for £60m ($81m), while Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga joined from Chelsea for £48m ($65m) and £5m ($6.8m) respectively.

Meanwhile, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera arrived from Brentford and Valencia for a combined £23.7m ($31.2m).

Once Eze’s arrival is confirmed, the Gunners’ total spending this summer could exceed £270m ($365m) if all the potential add-ons are triggered, comfortably surpassing the £199.3m ($269.4m) they spent two seasons ago.

In the past five years, only Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have spent more on transfers than Arsenal, who still only have one FA Cup to show for their financial largesse.

In the same period, City and Chelsea have both won the Champions League, with the former also lifting the Premier League four times along with the FA Cup and the League Cup and the Blues adding the Europa Conference League and the inaugural Club World Cup.

Even United, who are in the midst of one of their worst run in history, have won the League Cup and FA Cup.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have finished second in the Premier League for the past three seasons as their wait for a league title stretches into a 21st season.

The Gunners squandered an eight-point lead over City in the 2022-23 campaign and racked up 89 points the following term, the third-most by second-placed team in the history of the Premier League.

The big prize, however, has remained frustratingly elusive.

“For three seasons we’ve had more points than any other team in this league, which is incredible,” Arteta said last week.

“That’s how you have all the consistency.

“Now we have to do it in a season to have one more point or the same amount of points and more goals different than any other team. That’s the objective.”

City have actually won the most points over the past three seasons, racking up 251 points to Arsenal’s 247, but Arteta’s claim spoke volumes for his desire to deliver a first league title in two decades.

Eze could be crucial in turning that dream into reality and in that context the parallels with Ian Wright are impossible to ignore.

Like Eze, Wright was 27 when he joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in 1991.

The season before departing for north London, he dragged the Eagles to the FA Cup final, scoring against Manchester United, before Palace eventually lost the replay.

In May, Eze scored the winner at Wembley as Palace beat Manchester City to win their first ever trophy.

In seven seasons with Arsenal, Wright scored 185 goals in 288 appearances in all competitions, winning six major trophies including the Premier League title in 1998.

Can Eze replicate Wright’s impact at the Emirates? Arteta’s quest for glory may well depend on it.