Arsenal complete signing of Eberechi Eze in £67.5m deal from Crystal Palace

Arsenal have completed the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace in a deal worth £67.5m. The 27-year-old has joined on a four-year contract, with the option of a fifth year, after Arsenal beat Tottenham to his signature.

Spurs had been the frontrunners to sign the England international after stepping up their interest last weekend, but their deal was hijacked by Arsenal on Wednesday. They moved in after Kai Havertz sustained a knee injury during their win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

“We are absolutely delighted to bring Eberechi to Arsenal,” Mikel Arteta said. “He is a powerful and exciting player who will give us a new dimension in our attacking game. What stands out just as much as his talent and intelligence as a player is the way he has worked hard throughout his career to get where he is today.

“His journey, his mentality and his ambition are exactly what we want in our team and we love how much it means to him and his family to be joining our club. We all look forward to start working with Eberechi soon.”

Arsenal, who confirmed the signing before Saturday’s home match against Leeds, have paid £60m up front, with a further £7.5m in bonuses. Eze’s previous club QPR, who he left for £19.5m in 2019, are due 15% of the profits Palace make on the deal.

Eze will wear the No 10 shirt. His arrival at Arsenal bridges a gap of 14 years to when he was released by their academy at the age of 13. During his six years at Palace, he made 169 appearances and scored 40 goals, including the winner against Manchester City in May’s FA Cup final to secure the club’s first major honour.

The Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, had praised Eze’s conduct through this summer’s transfer speculation. The attacking midfielder started the Community Shield win against Liverpool and the opening draw against Chelsea in the Premier League. He was expected to play in the Europa Conference League qualifier against Fredrikstad on Thursday, but was withdrawn from the squad after a deal with Arsenal was agreed.