Arsenal convinced Eberechi Eze to join the club in a meeting last month, a report has claimed, with the Gunners finally pulling the trigger on their pursuit of the Crystal Palace midfielder on Wednesday.
Eze was widely expected to join Tottenham Hotspur, who appeared to be the only suitor in the race for his signature for the majority of the past few weeks, but Arsenal swooped in to strike a deal to bring Eze to the Emirates Stadium instead.
The Gunners’ interest in Eze is nothing knew—Arsenal were widely credited with significant aspirations to sign him earlier this summer—but the acquisitions of both Viktor Gyökeres and Noni Madueke, coupled with contract extensions for Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard, saw club officials decide to focus their efforts on reinforcing other positions on the pitch.
Everything changed on Wednesday, however, when Kai Havertz was struck down with an injury which left Arsenal scrambling for a new signing. A deal to sign Eze was agreed just hours later.
According to the Daily Mail, the reason for this rapid progress is a meeting between Arsenal and Eze last month.
Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta sat down with Eze, who revealed his desire to join Arsenal this summer. However, when a formal offer did not arrive, Eze began negotiating with Tottenham.
Eze agreed personal terms with Spurs, who reached an agreement over a transfer fee on Wednesday, but Palace refused to immediately greenlight an exit as they wanted their talisman available for Thursday’s Conference League qualifier against Fredrikstad. As a result, the door was opened to Arsenal.
A boyhood Arsenal supporter whose quotes on the heartbreak of being released by the club’s academy at 13 years old have resurfaced on social media, Eze quickly accepted the Gunners’ renewed approach and is now set to undergo a medical on Friday after what is set to be his final appearance with Palace.
READ THE LATEST TRANSFER NEWS AND RUMORS FROM WORLD SOCCER
This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Arsenal Stunned Tottenham With Eberechi Eze Transfer Hijack.
