Eberechi Eze has revealed that he was advised to ring Mikel Arteta to find out Arsenal’s level of interest in him before committing to joining Tottenham.
Eze was a long-term Arsenal target; however, Tottenham had made a strong push to sign him and were so close to getting the deal done.
🤔 What GRADE would you give Eberechi Eze’s first season at Arsenal so far?
But just before things could be agreed, the midfielder made one final play to see if his dream move to the Emirates Stadium was at all possible.
Eventually, Arsenal agreed a £68m deal for Eze and brought him to N5, in one of the most dramatic transfer sagas in recent memory.
Eberechi Eze phoned Mikel Arteta to find out Arsenal’s interest
Eberechi Eze made one final attempt to join Arsenal by personally calling Mikel Arteta, and it paid off as the Gunners accelerated their move.
So far, Eze’s time at Arsenal has been so disappointing; however, he did produce a very memorable hat-trick in the North London derby.
The 27-year-old will be hoping to replicate that this weekend, when the Gunners travel to N17 to face Spurs.
“I was given that advice (to phone Arteta). The mindset of finding out what the truth is, finding out where things are, and in the end, at least you can say that you tried everything,” Eze told Men In Blazers.
If you were Eberechi Eze, how would you feel after seeing Bukayo Saka start in the number 10 role?
“So following that advice, it led to the thing that I really wanted happening. So grateful because I know that these are things that it’s hard for us to understand, but I believe God is orchestrating all sorts.
When asked whether he was nervous about speaking to Arteta, Eze added: “I’d spoken to him previously, so I already knew that the type of character he was, and it was very, very cool.
“So, I knew that that’s the type of conversation I could have. He’s an honest guy. He’s straight. He says it how it is.”
Eberechi Eze on Thierry Henry’s Arsenal advice
Following his move to Arsenal, Eze has revealed that he received a call from his footballing hero Thierry Henry, who gave him advice.
“A special man. Special. I’d met him whilst I was at Palace, and we had a conversation, and we spoke for a while,” Eze claimed.
“He gave me so many drops of wisdom that I knew I could take on my career, and those are important bits, and I would experience periods or moments that I’ll be calling on those drops of wisdom.
“So to get a message from him that’s not just my hero, but that’s every young footballer’s hero.”
When asked what the Arsenal legend told him, Eze responded by saying: “I don’t think I can tell you guys that, man. I need to keep that for myself. These are tips for gatekeeping.”
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