Arsenal have signed Eberechi Eze for £67.5million on a four-year contract — and he will wear the No10 shirt.
The ex-Crystal Palace forward will be unveiled at the Emirates today ahead of the Gunners’ 5:30pm kick-off against Leeds United.
It follows a remarkable turnaround which saw rivals Tottenham having agreed terms with the 27-year-old on Wednesday, with the player keen to finalise the move, before Arsenal swooped in.
That was just hours after Havertz missed on open training session in the morning because of a knee injury he picked up against Manchester United on Sunday.
Daily Mail Sport understands that the uncertainty around the length of Havertz’s absence was a contributing factor to Arsenal completing a deal for Eze.
He is the north London club’s seventh signing this summer and takes their spend to around £250m.
Eberechi Eze has completed his dramatic £60m move to Arsenal in a huge blow to Tottenham
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal dramatically swooped in to hijack the move on Wednesday afternoon after Thomas Frank’s Tottenham had agreed personal terms with the Crystal Palace star
Eze was convinced on joining the Gunners after a meeting with key club figures last month
A mural depicting Eze in an Arsenal shirt had already been painted prior to the announcement
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Eze’s contract has an option for a further year.
In his parting words to Palace, Eze said: ‘Five years, man. Crazy. It feels like just yesterday I was walking through the doors joining from QPR. The day you gave me the chance to realise my dream of playing in the Premier League, For South London’s biggest club.
‘From the start, I had goals set and my targets in place for what I wanted to achieve here at Palace but I had no idea of what these last 5 years would really turn out to be.
‘They call us a family club because it’s impossible to truly understand what it’s like to be part of this club unless you’re in it. They’re not wrong. Throughout the challenges of the covid times, from the day I tore my achilles and the long road of recovery to that night at Selhurst against Villa when I came back, up until this very day, the love you have all shown me, the way you have all supported me, and how we’ve stood together no matter what, these are things that will live in my heart forever.
‘And that’s all before we made history together, lol. Wembley, man. That whole journey. Words aren’t enough to describe what we all experienced that day so I’m not gunna try, but what I will say is that God did something for us that will connect us for generations. The most special day of my career because God gave us what no one thought was possible for us!
‘So after all of this, all I really want to say is thank you. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for giving me a chance, and thank you for the love shared that will last a lifetime.
Up the Palace. God Bless, Ebz.’
Daily Mail Sport understands Spurs had agreed to Palace’s transfer demands on Wednesday and also struck terms with Eze who, at that stage, was keen to finalise the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Eze called in sick to pull out of what was meant to be his final Crystal Palace game on Thursday
But spectre of the wantaway star hung over proceedings despite him not being on the pitch
But Crystal Palace are understood to have insisted that Eze remain available for their Conference League play-off first leg against Norwegian side Fredrikstad on Thursday night, which handed Arsenal an opportunity to swoop in.
But in the end, Eze didn’t play. Oliver Glasner expected him to have a send-off but revealed that the winger called in sick on the morning of the game. ‘We don’t like to change the starting XI on matchday, especially in this situation when it is the first time of European football for Crystal Palace,’ the Austrian admitted pre-match.
Palace went on to win 1-0 at Selhurst Park, with Jean Philippe-Mateta scoring their first ever European goal, and Glasner said afterwards: ‘Ebs will not play for us anymore so it does not make sense to talk about him. It’s gone.’
He later told his post-match press conference: ‘I have to apologise to all of you because I didn’t tell the truth yesterday. I thought he would play… he called me and said he didn’t feel well. You have to ask him (why), maybe in a few days. No (I don’t think he will play for the club again).’
All the same, the Palace faithful, who had turned out hoping to see a final glimpse of their talisman, held up signs thanking him for his service and proclaiming him as a legend.
After stealing Eze from under the nose of their fierce rivals, Arsenal have now officially announced the deal, which is understood to be worth approximately £60m.
As reported by Daily Mail Sport earlier this week, Eze was convinced on joining the Gunners after a meeting with key club figures last month.
The Crystal Palace star was sold on the idea of moving to north London by Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta and manager Arteta, who met with him last month despite an offer failing to materialise at the time.
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.
Eze’s release clause of £60m, plus £8m in bonuses, lapsed last week.
Both north London clubs enjoyed victories in their first matches of the new Premier League season, with Spurs triumphing 3-0 over newly-promoted Burnley and Arsenal edging out a tight 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
