TBR Football can now exclusively reveal which position Mikel Arteta is planning to use Eberechi Eze at Arsenal.
The Gunners were no longer in the race to sign the England international – seemingly happy to leave him to Tottenham – although an injury to Kai Havertz saw Andrea Berta spring into action.
TBR Football understand Eze always preferred Arsenal and is pleased at how the situation materialised.
Crystal Palace will receive around £68m for the 27-year-old.
Graeme Bailey – Chief Correspondent for TBR Football – can now confirm where Mikel Arteta intends to deploy Eberechi Eze for Arsenal.
Sources inform TBR Football that Arsenal have signed the Londoner to play in the No.10 role – a central attacking midfield position.
Bailey reveals: “Arsenal’s front three can play all over the pitch. Generally speaking, we know Eze can play on the left at times. Could he play on the right? Quite possibly. But broadly speaking, the club sees him as a number ten – that’s what he’s being signed for.
“It’s fascinating. Obviously, it tells us they saw Havertz playing that role a bit as well. Predominantly, they see him as a number ten. And losing Havertz, who they really hope isn’t out for too long, is significant because it’s a substantial injury.
“That’s why they made the move. It’s a reactive deal – hats off to Andrea Berta and the Arsenal backroom staff for responding to what Mikel wanted. He felt they needed something else, so they acted.”
TBR Football understand Tottenham are annoyed to have lost out on Eze – but those at Spurs did feel something was wrong before Arsenal swooped in and hijacked the deal.
Spurs have enquired about Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester following the setback – a player who has already agreed to join Crystal Palace.
Eze has played a fair amount of football on the left wing throughout his career – mainly under Roy Hodgson – and boasts a decent return of goal involvements in that area.
However, the man born in Greenwich is most effective centrally – as you can see – so Arteta is correct to view him as a central operator.
Eze can also play in a deeper central midfield role if needed – and has also made two appearances as a striker earlier in his career – so if need be, the former QPR star can cover several areas for Arsenal in the event of injuries to others.
