Arsenal have delivered a brutal blow to Tottenham Hotspur by swooping in to hijack their £60m move for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze — a transfer coup that underlines the Gunners’ determination to finally end their wait for major silverware.
Spurs believed they had their man, with negotiations in advanced stages and personal terms virtually agreed.
But when Arsenal learned that Kai Havertz could face a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, they moved decisively, tearing up earlier plans to explore the loan market and instead sanctioning a blockbuster bid.
The deal — now expected to be completed — is more than just a painful psychological strike across north London.
It is a clear signal of Arsenal’s ambition to mount a genuine Premier League title challenge and push deeper into the Champions League, after last season’s semi-final run.
Arsenal’s intent is reinforced by their summer business: the arrivals of Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi (£60m), winger Noni Madueke (£48.5m), and long-awaited striker Viktor Gyökeres (£64m).
Adding Eze, a boyhood Arsenal fan and former academy player, further transforms their attack with a forward who scored 14 times last season and proved his big-game pedigree with decisive goals in Palace’s FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in May.
For Spurs, the timing could hardly be more painful; Chairman Daniel Levy and manager Thomas Frank believed Eze was theirs, even considering a cash-plus-Richarlison package. Instead, they are left reeling from another collapsed pursuit — days after Morgan Gibbs-White chose to stay at Nottingham Forest despite their confidence in securing his signature.
Eze’s story adds to the sting, released by Arsenal at 13, he has worked his way up through Fulham, Reading, Millwall, QPR and finally Palace, where he blossomed into one of the Premier League’s most gifted attacking midfielders.
He once admitted he “cried for a week” after being let go by Arsenal — now, more than a decade later, he returns not as a prospect but as a £60m star.
For Arsenal, this is no mere flex in the rivalry with Spurs, it’s is a ruthless demonstration that they are building a squad to win now, not later.