Eberechi Eze has openly revealed that he was ready to join Tottenham Hotspur before Arsenal entered the picture and turned his head during the summer transfer window. The attacking midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Spurs, with reports at the time suggesting that negotiations were progressing well and a deal was close to completion. However, in a dramatic twist, Arsenal joined the race late in the window, changing the course of the transfer entirely.<\/p>\n
According to reports, Tottenham had been working on the deal for several weeks, believing they were on the verge of securing Eze\u2019s signature. But once the Gunners made their approach, the player\u2019s mind was quickly made up. Arsenal\u2019s interest reportedly reignited Eze\u2019s connection with the club, where he once spent time in their youth setup, and from that moment, Tottenham\u2019s pursuit fell apart.<\/p>\n
For the first time since the move, Eze has spoken publicly about his transfer decision and the events that led to his switch from Crystal Palace to the Emirates. Speaking to The Athletic, the 27-year-old England international admitted just how close he came to joining Spurs, revealing that Arsenal\u2019s involvement completely changed his plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was prepared to go to Tottenham,\u201d Eze confessed. \u201cBut from the moment Arsenal came, it was always going to be them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The midfielder went on to explain what life at Arsenal has been like since making the move. \u201cPlaying for Arsenal feels more like a show or theatre,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s more pressure, competing for titles and playing in the Champions League, but it\u2019s something I\u2019ve dreamed of since being a kid. It\u2019s not 100 per cent there yet, but I\u2019m enjoying getting better and improving every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Eze hasn\u2019t started every match under Mikel Arteta this season, he has made a noticeable impact when called upon, contributing one goal and three assists so far. His creativity and composure have added depth to Arsenal\u2019s attacking options, and many within the club believe he will become an even more influential figure as the season progresses.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Tottenham were forced to adjust their plans after missing out on Eze. Spurs eventually turned to RB Leipzig\u2019s Xavi Simons as an alternative signing, with the Dutch playmaker arriving to bolster Thomas Frank\u2019s attacking options. However, Simons has yet to fully find his rhythm in the Premier League, leaving fans questioning what might have been had Eze completed his move to north London\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n
Tottenham\u2019s sporting director, Johan Lange, later reflected on the club\u2019s failed pursuit of Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White, suggesting that missing out on both players may have worked out in Spurs\u2019 favour. Lange claimed that Simons represented the ideal signing for Tottenham\u2019s long-term project due to his youth, technical ability, and potential to grow within the squad.<\/p>\n
Even so, Eze\u2019s revelation has reignited discussion among supporters about how close Spurs came to landing one of England\u2019s most gifted attacking midfielders. His candid admission that he was ready to wear the white shirt of Tottenham \u2014 only for Arsenal\u2019s late intervention to sway his decision \u2014 adds another layer of intrigue to one of the summer\u2019s most talked-about transfer stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eberechi Eze has openly revealed that he was ready to join Tottenham Hotspur before Arsenal entered the picture and turned his head during the summer transfer window. The attacking midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Spurs, with reports at the time suggesting that negotiations were progressing well and a deal was close to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":52908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2242472319-750x500-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52909,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52907\/revisions\/52909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}