Arsenal have hijacked Tottenham’s bid to sign Eberechi Eze, getting one over their north London rivals who appeared in pole position to sign the Crystal Palace and England star.
It appears increasingly certain that Arsenal will pull off something of a coup in signing Eze, long established as a potential difference-maker for an elite club.
Here are five of the most notable names who opted for Arsenal over Spurs – and the stories behind their choices.
William Saliba
Saliba revealed that playing for ‘the biggest club in England’ led to him choosing the Gunners over local rivals Tottenham back in 2019.
Speaking to Arsenal’s official website, the teenager insisted he only had one club in mind, adding: “Since I was little, I’ve been watching Arsenal play in the Champions League and so on.
“It’s a massive pleasure to sign for a really, really big English club. This is the biggest club in England for me, so it was an easy decision.”
Arsenal were struggling under Unai Emery at the time, while Spurs had just reached the Champions League final, making Saliba’s statement especially bold.
But he’s become one of the Premier League’s best defenders as Arsenal have revived under Mikel Arteta, while Tottenham have usually fluctuated a few places below them.
David Raya
This is certainly an interesting example of one who got away from Spurs back in 2023.
After being told it was £40million or no deal by Brentford, Raya was then able to leave to join Arsenal for a fee of around £27million.
A frustrating deal for multiple reasons, losing a player of his quality to their North London rivals hurt and it was made all the worse given how Guglielmo Vicario has struggled with injuries across his time at the club.
Riccardo Calafiori
After helping Bologna reach the Champions League and enjoying a stellar Euro 2024, Calafiori was on the shopping list of several Premier League clubs.
Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham all wanted the Italian defender, but he rejected them all in favour of a move to Arsenal.
Emmanuel Petit
Arsenal legend Petit once had Tottenham convinced he was going to sign for them – before he got into a taxi they paid for and went on his way to join their bitter rivals instead.
Eager to challenge for titles rather than fighting relegation battles, the future World Cup winner signed a £3.5million deal with the Gunners.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Petit explained: “I had meetings on the same day with Tottenham and Arsenal and had a meeting with Tottenham in the morning, but when I came to England I didn’t know about the rivalry between the two clubs.
“When I left the Spurs stadium, they booked me a cab and the cab driver asked me for directions, so I gave him the Arsenal address and I didn’t realise that the cab was pre-paid by Spurs, so they knew where I was going!
“I’d told Spurs that I needed time to think about it but knew that I had to see Arsenal, as well as other clubs in Italy and Spain.
“I told everyone that I’d make my mind up and when I knew the answer I would give it, but after a couple of days I signed for Arsenal and it went into newspapers and all of a sudden the story came.
“I realised the pressure of the rivalry then.”
READ: Remembering Emmanuel Petit’s incredible debut season at Arsenal
Reiss Nelson
Nelson admitted he could have joined Spurs’ academy as a youngster, but it was not a hard decision for the boyhood Arsenal fan to turn them down.
“I was nine years old, I used to play for a team in Catford,” Nelson told the Arsenal Weekly Podcast in 2017.
“I would get up every morning with my brother, get on the train and travel to Catford three times a week.
“I was there for about two months playing for a team called Moonshot FC. I got scouted for Tottenham and was there for three to four weeks before a phone call from Arsenal came.
“The first session they wanted to sign me so, happy days, I didn’t look back.”
Nelson has scored eight goals in 90 Arsenal appearances and is currently on loan at Fulham.
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