Eberechi Eze’s transfer to Arsenal has caused shockwaves across the Premier League, but North London is where it is being felt the most.
The Gunners had shown an interest in the England international earlier in the summer, but Andrea Berta was addressing other issues within the team first.
Then, following an injury to Kai Havertz, they struck in a surprising deal that saw Arsenal hijack Tottenham’s agreement for Eze.
It was a last-minute move that delighted the red half of North London, while the Lilywhites were left devastated yet again after a difficult summer.
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Jermaine Jenas left “fuming” with Tottenham after Arsenal sign Eberechi Eze
Arsenal fans were left delighted with Eberechi Eze joining the club, as he returned to the place where it all started for him.
While landing a player of his quality was reason enough to be delighted, the fact that it came at the detriment of their rivals, Tottenham, made it even sweeter.
It was a situation that left Jermaine Jenas furious as he said on the Wildcards podcast: “I am fuming. I’m actually fuming.
“Look, I can totally understand why Spurs fans are absolutely fuming this morning. I really can. Essentially, for at least a week now, Tottenham fans have been looking at it going, you know what? This is a good team that Thomas Frank has got hold of here.
“You know, from the Super Cup game to the first game of the season, Richarlison looks back, Kudus looks hot.
“And everyone’s thinking, if we can add Eze to that and maybe even Savinho to that, this is a team that is going to be seriously like, as a minimum, contained in the Champions League positions.
“And I said that last week, didn’t I? And it’s just the same old story. It’s the same old story. They can’t get a deal over the line, which was in their hands.
“Now, everyone at home is going to be sat there, not everyone, but people at home have been listening to people talking about, well, he always wanted to go to Arsenal. He always wanted to do this, always wanted to do that
“Now, my thing is, if you look at the Declan Rice situation when he went to Arsenal, right? [Manchester] City were involved in that discussion at that particular time. And Arsenal, being a big club, went, no, no, no, no, no. This is our guy.
“We want him and we want him now, and we’re going to go over and above to make sure that we get him. There’s no way they wanted to spend a hundred million pounds on Declan Rice, but they just went, this is how much we want this player. And Spurs are in a situation now where they’ve got what?
“Son’s gone, Maddison is injured for the rest of the season, and they lost that, and Morgan Gibbs White, and this is it. They’re backed into a corner, so I don’t want to hear anything about penny pinching or an extra five mil. Go and get the player.
“That is all anybody cares about. And I think this is where Daniel Levy’s legacy is always going to be tarnished. He’s just never been able to just get the deal done.”
It shows the clear difference between the two teams and their current stature in the way they have conducted their transfer business.
While Arsenal look done and settled for the summer in terms of incomings, attention turns to when Eze may make his appearance in the North London Derby.
When Eberechi Eze will play against Tottenham in the North London Derby
There will be many milestones for Eze in an Arsenal shirt still to come, such as his debut, his first goal and more.
Included in that mix will be the first home and away match in the North London Derby coming up later this season.
The meeting between Arsenal and Tottenham are often the most fiery encounter in the fixture schedule.
The first of those comes at the Emirates Stadium in November, before the return fixture in February.
- Arsenal vs Tottenham – November 22
- Tottenham vs Arsenal – February 21
Expect something of a hostile atmosphere aimed towards Eze after his late snub of the club in favour of their rivals, but it’s one he will look to shut down with a goal or two of his own.
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