Be careful what you wish for.
Eberechi Eze had a move to Tottenham Hotspur sealed. Ready to go. Instead of finalizing the deal to become Spurs' new star, he reportedly gave Mikel Arteta a call, urging Arsenal to sign him at the last minute. According to James McNicholas of The Athletic, not only did he phone Arteta, Eze also "lobbied England team-mates at Arsenal to push the club for his arrival."
Eze made his Arsenal debut on Sunday, a 20-minute cameo in the Gunners' 1-0 loss to Liverpool. The same Arteta who Eze called to push for an Arsenal move wasted no time throwing him under the bus after the defeat.
"You have to put the ball in the back of the net," Arteta told Sky Sports. "Today we have three, four, five situations inside the box 1v1. Eze is completely through just to finish the action. You have to put the ball in the net if you want to win."
It only took one game for Mikel Arteta to throw Eberechi Eze under the bus
It's one thing to call out his entire team for not finishing their chances, but to single out Eze for not scoring during his 20-minute appearance off the bench? Ouch.
Tottenham fans saw it coming.
Eze could've become the star in Thomas Frank's system. He would've played in the No. 10 role, his best position. Under Frank, Eze would be the creator â the centerpiece. Everything would go through him. In his Arsenal debut, Arteta had Eze play out wide on the left to allow Martin Odegaard to play centrally.
In Arteta's team, Eze runs the risk of becoming just one piece of many. How often will he play in his natural position as the No. 10?
Think about Cole Palmer. He moved to Chelsea and became their superstar. Palmer runs the show. He never would've had that by staying at Manchester City.
It's the same for Eze. He would've been the undisputed creative piece for Tottenham in the No. 10 position, a role the incoming Xavi Simons will now occupy. Instead, he chose to follow his childhood dream of joining Arsenal, where Arteta played him out of position and then publicly called him out.
Spurs move forward happily with Simons, but Eze may already regret making that phone call.