This is an updated version of an article originally published in July. On Wednesday, David Ornstein reported Arsenal have reached an agreement in principle to sign Eberechi Eze.
Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze plays football in its purest form. Forget the statistics and tactics, he is an attacking midfielder who makes the game look easy.
The way the 27-year-old glides with the ball and slaloms past the opposition has been a breath of fresh air since he arrived in the Premier League in 2020. Released from Arsenal’s academy at 13, he emerged at Queens Park Rangers and now has 12 England caps.
On Wednesday, Arsenal made their move for Eze. He stands out as the prime example of what Mikel Arteta’s side have been missing.
“It’s easy to lose sight of — especially (with) the type of player I am — why I’m doing what I’m doing,” Eze told BBC Sport before scoring Palace’s FA Cup-winning goal against Manchester City in May. “Why do I run with the ball? Why do I try things? Why am I creative? Why do I do things that maybe players wouldn’t think to do?
“The reason is for the people who are watching. It’s what you’re doing to people in the stands and how you can get people off their feet; that’s what football’s about. It feels like football is starting to shift a bit, and there’s maybe not as much of that, but as long as I play, that’s all I want to do.”
While Arsenal have mounted title challenges for three successive seasons, only a handful of their players have had a similar thought process to Eze.
Gabriel Jesus is one, as his introduction at centre-forward in the summer of 2022 transformed Arsenal’s attack. Unfortunately, he has only managed to show glimpses of that chaotic flair since his debut season because of serious knee injuries.
Jesus was signed by Arteta but has had injury problems (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
Martin Odegaard is another, with the captain’s performances in the second half of the 2023-24 season typical of someone who was in their groove and playing off instinct. He struggled to replicate that in the 2024-25 season, with a two-month ankle injury forcing him to play catch-up for most of the campaign.
As injuries mounted up, the more formulaic Arsenal became, and the yearning for someone more expressive grew.
Eze has endured Achilles, hamstring and foot injuries in his five years at Palace, but has not lost sight of how he wants to play. He can still embark on mazy runs up the pitch, apply a delicate touch in a packed box to create chances for a team-mate or take a chance when outside the penalty area.
Much of that comes to him naturally, having played in cages growing up in south-east London. He was at Arsenal from the age of eight until he was released at 13, and his time in the academy may have played a part in forming Eze’s footballing views.
Born in 1998, he would have been travelling to north London between 2006 and 2011. Arsenal had just moved to the Emirates Stadium, and Arsene Wenger’s midfield became dominated by creative midfielders/wingers such as Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky, Aleksandr Hleb, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin.
Technically superb in tight spaces and comfortable dribblers, they were the blueprint for Arsenal players in those positions.
Arsenal have recruited more physically dominant midfielders under Arteta. Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice are examples of that shift from more technical players, such as Emile Smith Rowe, whose creativity helped revive Arteta’s project when it was suffering. His first Premier League start under Arteta came in a 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day 2020, ending a run of seven league games without a win, and kickstarting the journey Arsenal have been on since.
Smith Rowe left for Fulham last summer, and that creative void has not been filled.
But would Arteta’s system allow a player such as Eze to flourish?
Arteta gave Jesus — when fit — the freedom to roam as a central forward, but injuries have limited his playing time. The Brazil forward scored five and assisted five before suffering a knee injury at the 2022 World Cup, with his play benefiting others as well as himself.
Eze does like some tactical clarity as opposed to the idea of him playing solely off instinct. He told The Athletic in 2023: “A structure of knowing what I need to do, but the licence and freedom to express myself and do what I think is right at any given moment. I feel like if I’m given that licence, then I’m able to be free and create, and that’s when I can make things happen.”
Roy Hodgson was Palace manager at the time, but that understanding of his role in a structure has only become more evident under Oliver Glasner. The Austrian has consistently used Eze as one of two attacking midfielders in a 3-4-2-1, where he has made defensive contributions as well as attacking ones.
The blend of organisation and freedom helped Eze have his best season in 2024-25 as far as numbers are concerned (15 goals and 11 assists in all competitions).
Eberechi Eze’s Crystal Palace output
|
Season
|
Apps (all comps)
|
Goals
|
Assists
|
Goals + Assists
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2024-25 |
43 |
15 |
11 |
26 |
|
2023-24 |
31 |
11 |
6 |
17 |
|
2022-23 |
40 |
10 |
4 |
14 |
|
2021-22 |
19 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
2020-21 |
36 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
The steady growth in output is one sign of Eze’s maturity, but his involvement in Palace’s cup run is an even bigger one. Scoring in the third round, quarter-final, semi-final, and final put him in the history books as he helped them win their first major trophy.
His goals at Wembley in the semi-final and final may be the most memorable, but he shone in the 3-0 quarter-final win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
In the 34th minute, he received the ball from left-back Tyrick Mitchell with Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic closing him down. A quick drop of the shoulder and Eze shifted the ball into a position to strike just outside the box. It wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity, but he made it happen, curling the shot in off the post.
Eberechi Eze, that is magical ✨@EbereEze10 with a stunner for @CPFC 😮💨#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/egkd7oEuDi
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 29, 2025
Four minutes later, he chased down a pass on the left, strode towards Joachim Andersen, nonchalantly shifted the ball onto his left foot and crossed for Ismaila Sarr to finish. There were no fancy flicks, just good decisions and efficient movements.
If Arsenal are able to get a deal over the line, Eze’s skill set and history with the club could provide excitement — and something Arteta’s team have missed.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
