Mikel Arteta Reveals How Arsenal Beat Tottenham to Eberechi Eze Signing

Eberechi Eze came through Arsenal’s academy before he was released aged 13.

Eberechi Eze was unveiled as Arsenal’s new No. 10 on Saturday. / Catherine Ivill—AMA/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta confirmed reports that Eberechi Eze was the one who instigated his late transfer U-turn away from Tottenham Hotspur towards Arsenal with a phone call.

It had been claimed that Spurs were in a “one-horse race” for Eze just four days before he was unveiled to an adoring Arsenal public at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Tottenham had supposedly agreed a fee which suited Crystal Palace only to be usurped by their fierce north London rivals.

Arsenal had been reportedly considering moves for Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa earlier this summer before Eze took matters into his own hands. It was reported that the club’s former academy graduate rang up Arteta on Wednesday, the same day he was supposed to sign for Spurs, to double-check whether a move back to N5 was on the cards.

In the aftermath of Kai Havertz’s serious knee injury, the Gunners were more willing to pursue another forward and after a board meeting that same day, they had settled on a £60 million ($81.2 million) initial fee for Eze.

Eberechi Eze has joined Arsenal for £67.5 million. / X / Arsenal

When asked about this transformative phone call by beIN Sports on Saturday, Arteta grinned: “That shows you how much he wanted to come. It is very difficult sometimes because you want to be very open and transparent with the players.

“They have to make decisions in their careers that are very, very important. I am delighted to have him. You can tell how much it means to him and his whole family. Welcome to our family and I’m sure we are going to have some great moments together.”

Arteta agreed with the description of Eze as Arsenal’s new “X-factor.” “I think he has the capacity to create these magic moments,” the Spanish boss gushed. “He can do it from different positions, different situations.

“He’s got that flair, he’s got that charisma as well about him that is very contagious. And they’re using it the right way. He can play different positions. We know he can play as an attacking midfielder, right or left. He doesn’t care. He plays shifted off the left as well. He’s very comfortable there as well.

“We’ll gather information again the moment he’s on that pitch and starts to link and feel connection with people. I’m sure we will find the right place for him.”

Eze may be thrust into the starting XI sooner than expected after both Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka picked up injuries against Leeds United on Saturday.

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