‘He’s got solutions to problems I hadn’t even given him’ - Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze reveals the ‘high-level thinker’ who was his toughest Premier League opponent ever

With the Premier League one of the most coveted competitions in the game, a number of world-class stars have graced England's top tier since its 1992 inception.

However, Kevin De Bruyne stands out to Eze as the hardest player he has ever come up against. De Bruyne is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders to ever play in the Premier League, having enjoyed a trophy-laden 10-year spell with Manchester City between 2015 and 2025 before departing Pep Guardiola's side for Napoli at the end of his contract in the summer.

De Bruyne made GOAL's Team of the 2020s So Far alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Virgil van Dijk, and Eze has spoken fondly of the "high-level thinker".

Asked by Akinfenwa who his toughest opponent in the Premier League has been, Eze said exclusively to GOAL'sBeast Mode On podcast: "I'm gonna [Kevin] De Bruyne, you know. To play the way he was playing, to do the things that he was doing for that amount of time… yeah, not easy. You can tell that he's a high-level thinker. These are the type of players I’ve looked up to from young, so definitely a special player.

"Probably the player you're coming up against and you're like, ‘he's got solutions to problems I hadn't even given him yet’. He's a special guy."

De Bruyne made an impressive start to life with Napoli following his summer switch to Italy, scoring four goals in his opening eight appearances. However, the Belgian is unlikely to feature for the defending Serie A champions again this year, having suffered a serious thigh injury while scoring a penalty in an eventual 3-1 win over Inter last month.

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Eze and De Bruyne's paths could well have crossed, albeit briefly, with Manchester City last year. The Belgian reportedly had a lucrative contract offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad as the creative star entered the final year of his deal at the Etihad Stadium.

While De Bruyne ultimately stayed at City for the 2024-25 season, the Cityzens had earmarked Eze as a potential replacement for the former Chelsea and Wolfsburg man in case had he taken the Saudi giants up on their offer.

Crystal Palace, though, were reluctant to cash in on Eze, who also sold Michael Olise to Bayern Munich that same summer. Ultimately, Eze remained at Palace and played a starring role in their FA Cup success over City in May before securing a move to Arsenal in August.