Eberechi Eze could do something not even Mesut Ozil managed at Arsenal

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Mikel Arteta is about to welcome a new playmaker into his squad in the form of Eberechi Eze.

Eze was regarded as the dream transfer for Arsenal fans this summer, who desperately wanted to see the Crystal Palace man make the Emirates home. 

Just as the 27-year-old was about to join Tottenham, Andrea Berta hijacked Eze’s move, denying Arsenal’s rivals their top creative target. 

Arsenal will pay Palace their asking price of £68m for Eze, who will soon make his transfer to his boyhood club official. 

• READ MORE: David Ornstein shares what he’s hearing about Arsenal’s PSR situation after spending £68m on Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Eze could become an iconic number ten at Arsenal

There’s something about standout playmakers and the Gunners, as history will tell you.

From Dennis Bergkamp to Martin Odegaard today, Arsenal love to entertain with a creative expert in attacking midfield.

Being a boyhood Arsenal fan, following in the footsteps of Bergkamp would be a dream for Eze, and there’s a good chance that the Englishman can follow the same path as the Dutchman as soon as he becomes a Gunner. 

There aren’t any wearers of the number ten shirt in Arsenal’s history as iconic as Bergkamp, and Eze could be next.

The number ten is currently vacant at Arsenal and has been since Emile Smith Rowe’s transfer to Fulham in 2024.

Before Smith Rowe, Mesut Ozil wore the ten, switching from the number 11 once Jack Wilshere left, but the German didn’t manage to do what he longed for in the shirt number. 

Ozil had already hit his peak at Arsenal by the time he earned his favoured shirt number, recording only 13 goal contributions with the ten on his back compared to the 108 he recorded in the 11.

Eze can now do what neither Ozil nor Smith Rowe managed to do, and that’s to make the number ten shirt iconic in N5 again.  

Arsenal’s last five number ten wearers

Though Wilshere was a cult hero, since Robin van Persie sported the shirt number, there has been limited success in the department.

Arsenal’s last five wearers of the shirt include two club villains, Van Persie and William Gallas, who left the Gunners to sign for Spurs in 2010.

Now that Eze is coming the opposite way, and representing a far more glamorous transfer, there’s hope that the 27-year-old is awarded the shirt number he sports at Crystal Palace.

Arsenal fans are longing to see a number ten hit it off again at the Emirates, and with the iconic number 14 filled by Viktor Gyokeres this summer, who knows if the next famed duo is on the horizon?