Arsenal still want to add Eberechi Eze to Mikel Arteta’s squad, despite already signing six players this summer.
The Gunners have added the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke for big money to bolster their squad, while they’ve also brought in Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cristhian Mosquera and Christian Norgaard as depth pieces.
However, there is still a feeling in North London that the left-hand side of Arteta’s teams’ attack could improve, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli both struggling last season.
Eze has emerged as a primary target for Arsenal, although they’ve missed the chance to trigger his release clause, which expired at the end of July.
Arsenal failed to sign Joan Garcia last summer with release clause error
It’s well documented that Arsenal tried to sign Joan Garcia last summer.
The Gunners were in the market for a new goalkeeper after selling Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton, and had identified Garcia as the perfect acquisition.
The Spanish shot-stopper had a hefty release clause in his deal at Espanyol, which Arsenal weren’t willing to pay.
However, the Gunners still believed a deal for less than this value was on the cards, which it wasn’t, and they ended up settling for Norberto Neto on deadline day.
“Yeah, look, there’s some parallels here because Joan Garcia, Arsenal wanted to sign Garcia from Espanyol last summer, went quite a long way down the line with that deal,” journalist Duncan Castles said on the Transfers podcast.
“The player wanted to come. Espanyol referred Arsenal to the release clause in his contract.
“They basically had been led to believe by the players’ agents that they could get them for a lot less money. Then the deal eventually fell through.”
Arsenal tried to acquire Garcia again this summer, but by that point, his stock had risen; Barcelona came in and he rejected the chance to be David Raya’s deputy.
Arsenal cannot repeat Joan Garcia mistake with Eberechi Eze
Castles was comparing the situation with Garcia to that of Eze now.
Arsenal reportedly held fire on paying the Crystal Palace star’s release clause because they believe they can sign him for a much lower fee.
However, this encouragement may merely be coming from the player’s side and not Palace, who seem intent on keeping their talisman.
| Eberechi Eze’s Premier League Statistics 2024/25 | |
| Appearances | 34 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Shots per 90 | 3.48 |
| Expected Goals per 90 | 0.36 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 2.01 |
| Expected Assists per 90 | 0.22 |
| Successful Take-ons per 90 | 2.33 |
The Gunners may ultimately regret not stumping up the £68 million release clause and getting the deal done before the Eagles can reject offers.
That said, this sum is excessive for a player of Eze’s age and for someone who may not have a clear role in Arteta’s side.
from Arsenal Transfer News | Rumours, Deals & Targets | Arsenal Insider
Alfie Cairns Culshaw