Arsenal gave their fans the best possible start to a first home Premier League game of the season with the signing of Eberechi Eze.
Arsenal had been linked with Eberechi Eze for much of the summer, but for a while, it looked as though they had cooled their interest in the Crystal Palace star.
This gave Tottenham Hotspur a chance to step in, but after weeks of negotiations, they fumbled big time as Arsenal decided to make their approach.
Within a few hours of the initial reports, Eze to Arsenal had reached “here we go” status – and now, the deal is officially done, complete with announcement.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish is a shrewd negotiator, but Arsenal had an ace up their sleeve that resulted in Spurs effectively getting ghosted for Eze.
Tim Lewis’ good relationship with Steve Parish helped Arsenal sign Eberechi Eze
It’s now common knowledge that Tottenham were in talks over Eze for some time before Arsenal swooped in and completed a deal in a matter of hours.
It’s also well known that Eze would have preferred a move to Arsenal over Spurs, but in the end, it was Palace’s preference too, according to The Athletic.
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The outlet has reported that negotiations between Tottenham and Palace had proven ‘difficult’.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s executive vice-chair Tim Lewis has a good relationship with Parish, which meant they kept in contact over Eze even when the Gunners cooled their interest.
And when Arsenal then decided to rekindle their interest, talks proceeded smoothly between the two clubs.
In addition, the outlet reported that, on Wednesday morning, Tottenham acquiesced to all of Palace’s demands over Eze.
‘They never heard back,’ wrote The Athletic. ‘Within hours, Parish had struck a deal with Arsenal.’
Eberechi Eze’s first word upon joining Arsenal
Arsenal dropped a superb announcement video for Eze’s arrival, which would have only been better had Sol Campbell also featured.
During the video, Highbury legend Ian Wright asked the questions: “Do you want to realise those dreams? Do you want The Arsenal?”
And Eze replied with a simple one-word response: “Obviously.”
Arsenal have also confirmed that Eze – who was unveiled to fans before the Leeds game – will wear the No. 10 shirt.