Eberechi Eze has already become an icon for Arsenal fans without raising a finger.
The winger has been immortalised in a mural on a tunnel wall near the Emirates Stadium in north London – and he hasn’t even signed for Arsenal yet! Anonymous artist Northbanksy claimed responsibility for the overnight surprise, which depicts Eze in an Arsenal kit.
Arsenal left Tottenham red-faced on Wednesday night when they reached an agreement in principle with Crystal Palace to sign Eze, 27.
Eze had looked Spurs-bound after they spent 10 days negotiating over a deal worth £55million plus add-ons – only for Arsenal to sneak in at the last minute with a bid worth £60m.
But the transfer is not yet complete and the artists will have an almighty scrubbing-out job on their hands if Eze’s Arsenal deal falls through.
Typically murals are earned with a special achievement. Eze was overcome with emotion last year when a spray painting of him in Bermondsey, south London, near where he grew up, was unveiled on a housing estate after he made England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Eberechi Eze has had a mural painted of him by an Arsenal fan near the Emirates overnight
The Gunners still need to confirm his signing but look set to land the Crystal Palace man
Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle to sign him for £60million, hijacking rivals Tottenham
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Arsenal accelerated their move for Eze after Kai Havertz’s knee injury made it apparent that they need another forward. Havertz could be out for an extended period.
Despite the sudden development, in actuality Arsenal have been laying the groundwork for the move for some time.
Sporting director Andrea Berta and manager Mikel Arteta met Eze last month, and he was sold on the idea of moving to the Gunners but an offer failed to materialise at that time.
Eze is a boyhood Arsenal fan and was in their youth system before he was released at the age of 13.
His release clause of £60m, plus £8m in bonuses, lapsed last week.
Daily Mail Sport understands Spurs agreed to Palace’s demands on Wednesday and also agreed terms with Eze. At that stage, the player was keen to finalise the move.
However, Palace are understood to have insisted Eze remain available for their Conference League play-off first leg against Norwegian side Fredrikstad on Thursday night.
Arsenal then stepped in on Wednesday afternoon.
Eze has told Arsenal that he wants to join them over Spurs in a huge boost for Mikel Arteta
Eze started the Community Shield win over Liverpool and the 0-0 draw with Chelsea despite uncertainty over his Palace future
Arteta and Andrea Berta are believed to have met with Eze last month to convince him
Thomas Frank will miss out on another key attacking target this summer after losing sight of Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White
The Gunners had earmarked signing the 27-year old England international earlier in the window and knew they were his preference but, following their £63m outlay on Viktor Gyokeres, they had wanted to concentrate on outgoings before adding another left-sided attacker.
There is dismay at Tottenham at how things have unfolded, but a belief that there is little more that they could have done.
Tottenham moved for Eze after James Maddison was ruled out for the majority of the season with a serious knee injury.
Talks had been progressing but stalled as Palace scrambled for a suitable replacement, with Spurs even understood to have proposed offering forward Richarlison as part of the deal to help negotiations progress.
Spurs’ inability to close the deal will prompt further criticism from fans, after the club missed out on Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White this summer.
The club remain interested in Manchester City winger Savinho and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa but both clubs are reluctant to sell. Eze has been training with Palace ahead of tonight’s game, along with Liverpool target Marc Guehi.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner said: ‘They will play a crucial part for as long as they’re here.’
