Arsenal have left Tottenham in a state of shock by taking Eberechi Eze from their rivals’ grasp.
Spurs fans are still recovering from Sol Campbell’s U-turn in 2001, and 24 years later, Arsenal have handed their neighbours another resounding blow.
Andrea Berta hijacked Eze’s move to Tottenham, with the playmaker now booked in for a medical at Arsenal on Friday.
Arsenal struck a deal in the region of £68m with Crystal Palace for Eze, who only ever had the Gunners on his mind.
Eberechi Eze transfer hijack isn’t the only bad news for Tottenham
Tottenham fans can’t believe they’ve missed out on Eze, with the Lilywhites moments away from wrapping up the deal.
It’s not only the Arsenal element that makes the news difficult for Spurs to digest, as there are even bigger issues for Thomas Frank to tend to.
Spurs wanted a number ten earlier in the summer, but failed to sign Morgan Gibbs-White and after James Maddison’s ACL injury, the need to secure a playmaker was paramount.
Arsenal said no to Daniel Levy’s plan, sending their rivals back to square one, which is a dangerous place for Spurs to be.
That’s because the pain from missing out on Eze might not have reached its peak yet.
There’s a good chance that the deal could be felt even more at the turn of the year, when Mohammed Kudus goes to AFCON with Ghana.
Right now, Kudus is Spurs’ strongest creator and, if reinforcements aren’t signed, could drift into the central midfield role that was waiting for Eze.
Losing the Ghanaian in the winter will be a huge blow to Frank’s attack, which will only have those in N17 reflecting on how close they were to securing Eze.
AFCON could give Arsenal a real boost
For Spurs, the whole situation is devastating, but for Arsenal, things couldn’t be better.
On the subject of AFCON, Arsenal have a real chance to take advantage of their rivals losing key players at a time when big fixtures will take place.
Mohamed Salah could miss Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal due to his participation at the tournament and could also be absent for the Reds’ meeting with Spurs.
Spurs won’t have Kudus for their meeting with Liverpool, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United also set to be impacted.
Bryan Mbeumo could miss United’s clashes with Aston Villa, Newcastle and Manchester City, which would be a huge blow for Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City are also impacted, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush representing Algeria and Egypt, respectively, at the tournament.
Arsenal are one of the few clubs not impacted by the competition, presenting an opening for the Gunners to be at full strength while other members of the big six lose key stars.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
