Eberechi Eze opens up on snubbing Tottenham Hotspur for bitter rivals Arsenal in the summer
Tottenham Hotspur endured a mixed summer transfer window. They brought in some exciting players, including Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha and Xavi Simons, while also losing one of their skipper and most beloved players of the last decade, i.e., Son Heung-Min.
Meanwhile, the North London side has also suffered some serious setbacks in the transfer market. Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was on the verge of joining after Tottenham had triggered his release clause, only for their owner to intervene and force the deal to collapse. Another body blow Thomas Frank’s side suffered was during the pursuit of Eberechi Eze.
Spurs had positioned themselves as favourites to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. In fact, they had already reached preliminary agreements, both with the player and the club. Despite being on the verge of joining the Lilywhites, an injury to Kai Havertz prompted Arsenal to act swiftly, and they hijacked a deal for the England international at the 11th hour.
Eberechi Eze is a boyhood Arsenal fan and instantly gave the green signal to join the Gunners, leaving Tottenham in the mud. Losing the talented playmaker to bitter rivals Arsenal saw the Spurs fans go into complete meltdown on X.
Eberechi Eze opens up on snubbing Tottenham for Arsenal
Eze has shed light on what he was thinking about joining Spurs before Arsenal entered the race for his signature. For the first time since his big-money move from Palace to the Emirates Stadium, the 27-year-old has now spoken about his decision to snub Spurs’ approach and join the Gunners.
“I was prepared to go to Tottenham, but from the moment Arsenal came, it was always going to be them,” Eze told the Athletic.
Eze has had a mixed start to life at Arsenal. The creative midfielder has not been starting every game for Mikel Arteta’s side this season, although he has made an impact since his move across the capital, having scored once and provided three assists so far.
Tottenham moved to Xavi Simons after missing out on Eze
Tottenham bosses have all themselves to blame for the missed transfer of Eze. When everything was almost done, former chairman Daniel Levy should have accelerated the negotiations and got Thomas Frank’s primary target for the No.10 role. Instead, dilly-dallying led to Arsenal swooping in and snatching the England international under our noses.
Nonetheless, Spurs did not let Eze’s missed pursuit brood over for long and acted swiftly to sign his alternative. Xavi Simons arrived from RB Leipzig in the final week of the summer transfer window. While the Dutchman hasn’t found his feet in the Premier League yet, Xavi is a classy technician who will eventually come good for Tottenham.
With time, patience and experience, fans will get to witness the best of the 22-year-old at N17.
