It’s taken 14 years and £67.5m, but Eberechi Eze is going back to Arsenal

They say good things come to those who wait. But for Eberechi Eze, it has taken 14 years for his dream to come true. The England forward made a dramatic entrance during Crystal Palace’s open training session on Wednesday before their Conference League playoff when he was last to emerge from the changing room with frenzied anticipation that his expected move to Tottenham was close to being agreed.

Even if he had been aware of Arsenal’s intention to step up their longstanding interest in him, Eze was certainly giving nothing away when he signed autographs and spoke to supporters on his way out of Palace’s training ground in Beckenham.

It was later on Wednesday afternoon that the Palace chair, Steve Parish, received a call from Arsenal’s executive vice-chair, Tim Lewis, indicating they were finally ready to act. The full severity of the knee injury suffered by Kai Havertz during his substitute appearance against Manchester United on Sunday is unknown, although the German forward is expected to be sidelined for the immediate future. With Arsenal facing four of last season’s top seven in successive Premier League matches after they entertain Leeds on Saturday, Mikel Arteta felt he was short of numbers in attack.

It is understood Parish had reluctantly agreed a fee with Spurs that effectively matched Eze’s expired release clause of £67.5m, albeit with them paying less than the £60m they had asked for up front and with more bonuses included. Arsenal were well aware Palace wanted immediate funds for a replacement and were ready with an offer that satisfied both sides.

View image in fullscreen Eberechi Eze scores his first goal for Crystal Palace, against Leeds at Selhurst Park, in 2020. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/PA

Their trump card, however, was Eze. He has made no secret of his continued affiliations to the club that released him from their academy at the age of 13, even if the scars of rejection took a long time to heal. “It’s one of the hardest battles I’ve had,” he told the BBC before the FA Cup final in May. “Because of what Arsenal meant to me at the time, I had tears rolling down my face.”

He was also rejected by Fulham, Reading and Millwall before finally convincing Queens Park Rangers to give him a chance in 2016 as he was preparing to enrol in a local college and start working part-time at Tesco.

Their faith was rewarded by Eze’s breakthrough into the first team under the watchful eye of Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand, the former Tottenham striker who was QPR’s director of football when Palace paid £19.5m to sign him in August 2020 and inserted a 15% sell-on clause on any profit. That will ensure QPR receive around £6m from the move to Arsenal.

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“Sometimes, as a player, you can think, ‘has my chance gone?’ But he’s shown great strength of character and his ability has shone through,” said Ferdinand when Eze was called up by England for Euro 2024. “A lot of the best players have been rejected somewhere and it just pushes you on to achieve more.”

It took Eze three months to score his first goal for Palace – a brilliant free-kick against Leeds at an empty Selhurst Park – because of Covid restrictions – in November 2020 – before missing most of the next season with an achilles injury that also scuppered his hopes of a first England call-up. But he has flourished since returning, scoring 29 times in the Premier League over the past three seasons and underlining his status as a Palace legend with the winning goal against Manchester City at Wembley as the club lifted their first major trophy.

View image in fullscreen Eberechi Eze made his professional breakthrough with QPR, who will receive around £6m from his move to Arsenal. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

It seems fitting Eze chose a replica of the shirt Ian Wright and co wore in the 1990 FA Cup final for the parade a few days later, which had been donated by a fan. Wright, who joined Arsenal from Palace in September 1991 for £2.5m, was 27 at the time and proved he was more than capable of making the step up. Eze, born and raised in Greenwich – just up the road from Arsenal’s original home in Woolwich – will follow Kenny Sansom, Paul Davis and David Rocastle as south Londoners who crossed the river.

Eze will always have a special place in the hearts of Palace fans who will not begrudge him this deserved opportunity. As those who have followed the club for generations will testify after waving goodbye to Wright, Andy Johnson and Michael Olise over the years, it is best not to get too attached to your heroes.

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