Arsenal have beaten north London rivals Tottenham to the signing of Eberechi Eze, with the forward expected to join the Gunners in the coming days. But the transfer could have dire consequences for Kai Havertz, with Arsenal only deciding to swoop for Eze after the German sustained a knee injury.
Arsenal were linked with their former academy player Eze earlier this summer after the 27-year-old lit up the Premier League last season. However, the Gunners initially stepped aside, with Tottenham making a move as they edged towards a deal. But just as it looked like Eze was heading to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal dived in with a bid of around £67.5million. And it appears the prospect of joining his boyhood club is too tempting for Eze to turn down.
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Havertz came off the bench for half an hour as Arsenal defeated Manchester United in their Premier League opener on Sunday.
But he was absent as the Gunners held an open training session at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, with news of Arsenal’s pursuit of Eze hitting the headlines hours later.
Eze can play on either flank but thrives as a No. 10 and may be a direct threat to Havertz’s game time when the Germany international returns from his latest injury setback. And the former QPR player appears to offer a bigger threat than Havertz in the final third of the pitch.
According to Opta, Eze had 61 shots in the Premier League last season, with Havertz only managing 44. Of those attempts, 29 were on target compared to Havertz’s 21.
Eze is a much more creative player than Havertz as well as he created 50 chances for his Palace team-mates last term, with Havertz only creating 14 goalscoring opportunities.
While Havertz managed one more goal in the Premier League than Eze - nine compared to eight – the Palace player contributed five more assists and also made 141 more accurate passes in the opposition half. And those numbers may be enough to convince Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta that Eze should start ahead of Havertz in the future.
Eze was a surprise inclusion on the Palace team sheet for their Premier League opener against Chelsea on Sunday, despite the fact he appeared to be edging towards a move to Tottenham.
And he found the back of the net with a free-kick in the first half, but the strike was chalked off due to a foul by Marc Guehi.
Eze was then left out of the matchday squad for the Eagles’ UEFA Conference League play-off clash with Fredrikstad on Thursday evening ahead of his move to the Emirates.