Eberechi Eze's heart chose Arsenal over Tottenham - but Crystal Palace hero should be wary of becoming the new Jack Grealish

During June and July, Eze seemed to be one of Arsenal's priorities for the summer transfer window, despite them splashing the cash on various other positions. Once they had brought in Noni Madueke from Chelsea, that's when they appeared to ramp up their interest in the Palace man, which was a couple of weeks after they had first touched base with Eze's camp over a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Yet that changed when Ethan Nwaneri, who had supposedly been umming-and-ahing over a new contract, put pen to paper on a long-term deal. The club's established beat reporters claimed Nwaneri's new role was going to be as a No.10 and understudy to Martin Odegaard, reducing the need to find an external solution, one that Eze would have provided.

Arsenal wrapped up all six of their incomings thus far this summer by July 26, getting their core business done much earlier than many of their rivals. It was natural to assume that if Eze was ever that much of a priority, you imagine they would have pressed before they opened their Premier League campaign. That they were so blasé about Tottenham advancing their own interest suggested really were focusing on outgoings before any further incomings - Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson all missed Sunday's win at Manchester United despite not carrying an injury between them, such is the bloat of Mikel Arteta's squad right now.

Eze comes with a distinction that he feels both very Arsenal and very Tottenham in terms of his style. Both clubs have long been associated with attacking philosophies, boasting players who are revered for their brilliance on the ball.

Indeed, the Gunners and Spurs have already been in Eze's life. As mentioned, he comes from a family of Arsenal fans and was in their youth ranks, while he was recommended to Tottenham by former scout David Pleat prior to his switch to Palace. It's no surprise he has been perennially linked with the Lilywhites ever since.

Beyond that, Spurs have close ties with Eze's CAA Base agency, with James Maddison, Pape Matar Sarr, Pedro Porro, Richarlison and Djed Spence all represented by the same group. Going back slightly further, Son Heung-min is also a client and was frequently seen in conversation with Eze at off-field events. When Ange Postecoglou was interested in adding the midfielder to his squad this time last summer, fans dug up clips of the two speaking at length after Tottenham had beaten Palace 3-1 in March 2024.

With Son leaving in a similar blaze of glory, and with his famous No.7 shirt still to be filled, it felt like the stars were aligning for Eze to become Spurs' newest hero. He will end the summer, however, as their pantomime villain for generations to come.

The paths of Frank and Eze have crossed as rivals before, with the Dane always showing an admiration from afar. They first came up against one another when in west London, Frank the boss of Brentford while Eze was breaking onto the scene with neighbours Queens Park Rangers.

During an interview with Brentford fan podcast Beesotted in 2019, Frank made a point about wanting to show more respect to players who have that bit of flair, and made a concerted effort to demonstrate his begrudging affection for a foe.

"When the referees don't protect the game or the skilful players... If we were kicking down Eze from QPR, I would be angry," Frank said. "We need to protect the skilful players. Of course, we need to go to him, maybe take a yellow card, but if they don't protect those players, we don't protect the game. We enjoy to watch the best players doing fantastic things."

Six years down the line, Frank played his part in trying to convince Eze to join forces with him, with several reports noting the pitch the manager made to construct a team in which they are aligned on vision. These attempts, ultimately, were in vain. Once more, Frank will have to convince his own supporters to be better than demanding the blood of their sworn nemesis.

There is, and almost always has been, frustration from at least part of the Tottenham fanbase at Daniel Levy over his perceived reluctance to break the bank in the transfer market. Not to defend the Spurs chairman, but they have the fourth-highest net spend among Premier League teams over the last five years, making a loss of just over £525m.

Tottenham's issue has tended to be their reluctance to match the wages of their rivals; Cristian Romero and James Maddison are believed to be the only players currently under contract on a six-figure weekly salary. They have swung and missed on various big-name players before, such as Paulo Dybala and Rivaldo, rarely enjoying the luxury of star power from within.

Slightly predating Levy and ENIC's arrival were the captures of Jurgen Klinsmann and David Ginola, while the likes of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale were bought as budding prospects rather than the finished articles they went on to become at Real Madrid. Tanguy Ndombele, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, while all costing around £60m, were either not that famous on these shores or didn't come with the reputation of most players signed for that sort of money.

Only two players have come close to the calibre and fanfare that Eze would have brought at the time of their arrival in the Levy tenure: Rafael van der Vaart in 2010 on deadline day, and Bale's return on loan in lockdown. The proposed acquisition of Eze was as close to an unprecedented transfer as there has been in this part of Tottenham's history; he will instead be remembered in the same breath as the Dybalas and Rivaldos.

Across his five years at Palace, Eze has never once kicked up a fuss. There have never been murmurs of discontent, no briefs of his unhappiness, no itching desire to leave a place he has arguably outgrown. He has respected the Eagles' wishes to line up a successor before sanctioning his own transfer. Even this past weekend, he was put back into the starting line up to face Chelsea when he was about to be dropped amid advancing negotiations with Tottenham.

"Eberechi Eze, as much as I know has a contract with Crystal Palace, he is a Crystal Palace player," Oliver Glasner said post-match. "He showed it today and as long as he is a Crystal Palace player and he performs like this, he will play for us and nobody has told me anything else. He was picked because he is a Crystal Palace player and he is a very good Crystal Palace player. He trained all week, so there was no reason not to pick him."

At a time where Alexander Isak has taken the complete opposite approach and has gone on strike at Newcastle to force a move to Liverpool, Eze's behaviour should be seen as exemplary. By all accounts, he is a beloved figure in the Palace dressing room, someone who is worthy of the legendary status he has reached at Selhurst Park. It is this loyalty that has aided Arsenal in capturing their man.

The saga completely turned on its head on Wednesday. In the early afternoon, news broke that Kai Havertz had suffered a knee injury and Arsenal were heading back into the market, irrespective of player sales, for cost-effective solutions.

New sporting director Andrea Berta and Co reignited their interest in Eze - whose move to Spurs had not been finalised due to Palace's insistence that he appear in Thursday's Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad - signalling their willingness to match Tottenham's bid and knowing full well the player would choose them if it were a straight shootout for his signature. 

Suddenly, a move for Eze made a bit more sense. Arsenal needed more depth in the final third, and having played off the left throughout his career, the Palace man rose to the top of their shortlist once again. Viktor Gyokeres could still be covered by the Gunners' other left-wing options, with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard both playing as centre-forwards in the recent past.

BOYLE Sports

Graphic courtesy of BOYLE Sports

There is a danger that Eze at Arsenal does still risk stalling the prime of his career. He only has to look at Jack Grealish's time at Manchester City to see how that may play out, with the once beloved star now cast aside and on loan at Everton a month before he turns 30.

In fairness, Grealish most likely has no regrets over his decision to leave boyhood club Aston Villa for a team that won the Champions League in his second season there. He's taken home seven winners medals since becoming the first British player to be sold for £100 million. Though Arsenal are on a trophy drought that is on the verge of hitting the six-year mark - and as much as rival fans love to mock them for this - it's difficult to foresee a near future in which that continues much longer.

But Grealish was universally revered when he was strutting his stuff in the claret of Villa. He was a thrill-a-minute player worth the price of admission, and it culminated with the entire nation pleading with Sir Gareth Southgate to play him more at the delayed Euro 2020. Grealish became a household name, even to those who didn't even care about football, and this was before Villa became the European regulars they are today.

Part of the reason why Grealish flourished at Villa was because everything went through him. He was the playmaker, orchestrator, scorer and assister all in one. The team ebbed-and-flowed to his whim. At City, he was shunted to the touchline and became just another player in Pep Guardiola's infamous 'FPL roulette', an expendable winger whose main job was to retain possession rather than get bums off seats.

Eze may suffer a similar fate. He's not the fleet-footed left winger Arsenal have been looking for this window and is overqualified to be an option. His destiny is to run a team's attacks, just at a higher level than that of Palace. That's why the Spurs move made so much sense.

Nevertheless, the heart wants what it wants. You can't hold it too much against Eze for returning to the one club he's always wanted to play for. It's more that the fairy tale may lose its shine quickly, especially if Arsenal don't deliver a title in the next year or two.