Ian Wright believes 'God' intervened in Eberechi Eze transfer as new Arsenal star rejected Spurs at 11th hour to move to Emirates

Spurs had looked certain to capture the Crystal Palace talisman after sealing terms with the Eagles last week. The move was all but finalised until Arsenal stormed into the deal at the last possible moment. The sudden shift was triggered by Kai Havertz’s knee injury in Arsenal’s opening weekend victory over Manchester United. The setback forced Mikel Arteta and his staff to rethink their attacking options, sparking an urgent move for Eze.

For Tottenham, the timing was brutal. After weeks of negotiations, their new star-in-waiting appeared as though he was snatched away overnight. However, Eze’s ties to Arsenal run deep. Once a teenager in their academy system, he was released at 13 and spent years fighting his way back up the football ladder. Now, at 27, he has returned to the Emirates as a ready-made Premier League star.

Wright told the Stick to Football show: “It [Eze to Spurs] was done. He’s very God fearing. I know a lot of people will turn round and go, ‘Here we go,’ but they genuinely believe it’s happened because it’s meant to happen. That’s why, when he walked out of the tunnel, he could feel it, he couldn’t believe it had happened.”

The emotional weight of the transfer, Wright said, extends far beyond Eze alone.

“The whole family are Arsenal. You can imagine what his family are going through, [thinking] ‘He’s going to playing for Tottenham.’," he said. "The pure happiness and joy of him being there [at Arsenal], you just feel like it’s going to work out for him. I want it to work out for him simply for that reason. It’s where he wants to be. It’s very rare you get where you want to be at the level he’s at. He got thrown out of there [Arsenal] at 13 and came back.”

Eze will not have to wait long for his first true test in Arsenal colours. His debut could arrive in one of the Premier League’s fiercest battlegrounds: Anfield, when the Gunners face Liverpool on August 31.