Inside Arsenal's Eberechi Eze transfer heist as player's decision was always clear

It is set to be the biggest transfer heist since Tottenham ended up paying Emmanuel Petit’s taxi fare to sign for Arsenal. But as soon as Eberechi Eze got the phone call, there was never any doubt in his mind that he wouldsnub Tottenham to sign for his boyhood heroesArsenal.

This is the player who grew up worshipping Arsenal, was heartbroken when they released him at 13 and there is a video from 2018 of him doing the rounds on social media saying they are his favourite team.

But Eze’s dramatic U-turn - from the brink of joining Tottenham to agreeing terms with Arsenal - goes a bit deeper than the frantic negotiations with Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.

The seeds were sewn much earlier in the window and that was when Eze had his head turned and set his heart on Arsenal.

Eze, 27, was made aware of Mikel Arteta’s interest in him, just how much the Arsenal manager rates him and also his vision for the England player.

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From that moment on, those around Eze insisted he set his heart on Arsenal and even as he was close to joining Spurs they always felt he really wanted to go to the other side of the Seven Sisters Road.

Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta made it his business to speak to a lot of players this summer, even more agents and just as many clubs. But Eze stood out from the crowd and was a player Arsenal really wanted - but were just struggling to do the sums and also fit him into an expanded, growing squad.

The key was they were sweating on youngster Ethan Nwaneri and whether he would sign a new contract. Borussia Dortmund were bang in for him, they were much closer than Chelsea ever were to tempt him away and there was a genuine concern.

But Nwaneri decided to stay, was given a mega contract and also not the promise but certainly a commitment to give him a pathway and minutes in the first team. Arsenal see both players as more central rather than wide players.

So once Nwaneri stayed, Eze’s route to Arsenal was much tougher. They were signing player after player. In came Noni Madueke for £52m and they still have not offloaded Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard. They will now have a very crowded squad in that department but Arteta’s vision is that Eze can play wide left. He can play as a number 10. He can play centrally. He has strength, goals and a real creative spark.

He has so many qualities and when Arsenal suffered the blow of losing Kai Havertz to a knee injury this week, the deal suddenly became a go-er again.

Eze is no centre forward but gives them options. He could play off Viktor Gyokeres. He could be competition for Martin Odegaard. He can play wide. That is why he is so attractive. He is also a bright character. Full of life, energy and enthusiasm. You would want him in the dressing room and that also appeals.

At the start of this window, Tottenham were linked heavily with him. But steered people away and because they did not think he would move anywhere. They clearly went for Morgan Gibbs-White first. Then James Maddison got injured. That is when the decision came to go for Eze.

It was a drawn out saga. The £68m buy-out clause had ended. Also, Palace were determined to play hardball. They played him in their first Premier League game and still Spurs were driving a hard bargain.

Let’s be honest here, if Eze really, really wanted it, then it might have happened sooner. But as soon as Arsenal came in everything changed. It does bring back memories of 1997 when Petit held talks with Tottenham. Arsenal got on the phone, told him not to do anything until he spoke to them.

And to this day, former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein still laughs about how Spurs paid for the taxi from talks with them to go and join the Gunners. The Eze deal might just be heading for similar legend and wind up material between the fans.

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