Arsenal beat rivals Tottenham Hotspur to sign forward Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace - 'We love how much it means to him'
By Ben Southby
Updated 23/08/2025 at 17:38 GMT+1
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Mikel Arteta has added Eberechi Eze to his squad, following Arsenal's acquisition of the forward from Crystal Palace. The Gunners have signed the England international for a reported £60 million, pipping bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the 27-year-old's signature. Eze began his youth career with Arsenal, before going on to make 169 appearances for Palace and play 12 times for England.
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Arsenal have announced the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, beating rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the forward's signature.
Spurs were expected to land the 27-year-old before The Gunners swooped in following the injury to Kai Havertz.
The England international has put pen to paper on a "long-term" contract and becomes Arsenal’s seventh summer arrival.
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Arsenal wrote on their official website: "We are delighted to announce the signing of Eberechi Eze on a long-term contract.
"The 27-year-old England international returns to north London, where his football journey began in our academy before he rose to prominence as one of the Premier League’s most dynamic attacking talents."
Manager Mikel Arteta said: "We are absolutely delighted to bring Eberechi to Arsenal. He is a powerful and exciting player who will give us a new dimension in our attacking game.
"What stands out just as much as his talent and intelligence as a player, is the way he has worked hard throughout his career to get where he is today.
"His journey, his mentality, and his ambition are exactly what we want in our team, and we love how much it means to him and his family to be joining our club. We all look forward to start working with Eberechi soon."
Eze had been linked with a move to Thomas Frank’s Spurs after his £68 million release clause expired, and he appeared to wave goodbye to Eagles fans after he had a free-kick disallowed in Palace’s 0-0 draw away to Chelsea on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
However, it all fell apart when Arsenal hijacked the deal after the injury to Havertz.
Eze was an academy player for Arsenal and was a fan of the club growing up. He was released by The Gunners when he was 13 before being later being let go by Fulham, Reading and Millwall.
He was then picked up by Queens Park Rangers. In 112 appearances across all competitions, Eze scored 20 goals and registered 12 assists to earn a move to the Premier League with The Eagles in the summer of 2020.
After finding the net 40 times and recording 28 assists in 169 Palace appearances, Eze’s career has come full circle.
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Arsenal expressed an interest in Eze earlier in the window but chose not to follow it through to completion, with Arteta feeling there were more pressing improvements required in other areas.
However, with Havertz’s fitness in doubt over a suspected knee issue, there was clearly a desire to bring in another forward.
The Gunners opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win away to Manchester United and face Leeds United in their first game of the new season at Emirates Stadium.
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