Arsenal fans have told their Crystal Palace counterparts to enjoy Eberechi Eze while they can amid speculation over the midfielder’s futre.
The England international was all smiles as he returned to pre-season training on Wednesday, just two months on from his matchwinning performance in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Even Palace’s demotion to the Conference League as a result of UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules don’t appear to have dampened the 27-year-old’s spirits as he began his preparations ahead of the new campaign.
Whose colours Eze will be wearing, remains to be seen. The former QPR star has a long list of admirers including Arsenal who released the player when he was just 13.
Personal terms are reported to have already been agreed and Eze is thought to be keen on a return to north London.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Bayern Munich, too, are monitoring Eze’s situation carefully and would be keen to reunite him with his former Eagles teammate Michael Olise, who made a stunning impact in last season’s title-winning campaign.
Palace, however, were very keen to remind all and sundry that Eze remains, at the moment, very much their player with several well-time messages on X.
Arsenal fans were taking no notice, though, and are confident it won’t be long until Eze is strutting his stuff in red and white.
‘Admin milking out the last few drops he can,’ wrote one convinced Gooner on X, while another added: ‘Can’t wait to see this smile at the Emirates.’
An equally confident Arsenal fans said: ‘Yeah, he’s excited about signing for the Arsenal.’
Are Arsenal’s new signings enough to win the league?
You certainly can’t accuse Arsenal of being inactive in the window this summer, but whether the new signings and potential new recruits will be enough to power the Gunners to the title remains to be seen.
The naysayers will point to Liverpool’s already impressive summer, which has seen Arne Slot add two top class full-backs and smash the British transfer record to snare Florian Wirtz.
Building from a position of strength, the best are getting even better, even without the arrival of a new centre forward, an issue that looks likely to be addressed imminently.
Arsenal, however, can only look after themselves and while it might have been tempting to enter the race to sign Alexander Isak, plugging the gaping holes in their squad, exposed by last season’s injury crisis, represents a far smarter use of the considerable funds that have again been made available to Mikel Arteta.
Of the new additions, Martin Zubimendi’s is perhaps the most intriguing. Will the addition of a genuine deep-lying playmaker, one in the prime of his career, prompt a more expansive style of play?
If the Spaniard’s addition shifts Arsenal back towards a side somewhere between the buccaneering nearly-men of two years ago and the overcautious, safety first unit that lost their way last term then there is no reason to suggest they cannot last the distance.
The rest of the signings represent gambles, while even Eberechi Eze and Rodrygo, although level raisers, would come with no guarantees given it is not clear where the Crystal Palace playmaker would fit in, while there have been plenty of Real Madrid cast offs who have failed to shine in the Premier League.
That said, this is a top class Arsenal side whose consistency over the last three years is often overlooked as a consequence of their lack of silverware. The new signings may only need to contribute the extra 10% required to get the Gunners over the line given the quality that Arteta already has at his disposal.
If you’re looking for a positive omen, cast your minds back to the summer of 2001 when Arsenal brought in Richard Wright, Francis Jeffers, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Sol Campbell at significant cost, while Edu was effectively a new signing given he hardly played following his arrival in January.
Of that group, only Campbell could have been considered a genuine game changer, but that group all made valuable contributions across a campaign which saw Arsenal end a run of three second place finishes to complete a Premier League and FA Cup double under Arsene Wenger.
James Goldman | Metro Sports Editor.
Mikel Arteta has already made significant additions to his squad, but is keen for further attacking reinforcements.
Arsenal started the summer by plugging obvious gaps in their first team roster with Martin Zubimendi adding guile in midfielder, while Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard will provide Premier League nous.
Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera’s arrivals are set to be confirmed imminently, while the Viktor Gyokeres transfer saga finally appears to be heading towards a satisfactory conclusion from an Arsenal perspective.
Eze would represent the icing on the cake, but Arsenal also have their eye on Real Madrid’s Rodrygo as a potential alternative.