Arsenal have signed Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze on a long-term deal for £60million, including £8m in add-ons.
England international Eze, 27, scored 40 goals in 168 appearances for Palace, having joined from Queens Park Rangers in a deal worth £19.5m in 2020.
Eze was introduced to the Arsenal fans ahead of their Premier League clash with Leeds United on Saturday, walking down the tunnel at Emirates Stadium to a rapturous reception.
Eberechi Eze transfer: Why have Arsenal signed forward?
One of the most impressive attacking midfielders operating in the division, Eze contributed 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 matches in all competitions last season, with the Eagles preferring to use him on the left but giving their second-top scorer a roaming role.
Six days before scoring the winner against Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 17, Eze netted twice in three minutes in a 2-0 win at Tottenham as part of a run of 12 direct goal involvements in 12 games.
South London-born Eze joined Arsenal’s academy as an eight-year-old and was released at 13, making his name at QPR between 2016 and 2020, becoming the Championship side’s player of the year and players’ player of the year in 2019/20.
“My dream was to play for Arsenal,” Eze told Rising Ballers in 2022. “Being released by them was the hardest.
“Hearing them say no to me, at 13, that was tough. I remember training after I got released. I couldn’t focus – I was just crying.
“But that helped me so much in all the other rejections I faced. I thought ‘if I can get through Arsenal releasing me, I can get through anything.’”
Eberechi Eze stats
Arsenal had reportedly been keen to move for Eze because of his form for Palace, with whom he signed a contract extension until 2027 in 2023 and scored his last goal in the FA Cup final, earning the club their first major trophy.
An expert dribbler with an eye for an incisive pass, Eze also finished on 11 goals and six assists in 31 games in 2023/24.
England gave Eze his senior debut in June 2023 and he made three substitute appearances to help the Three Lions reach the final of Euro 2024.
A first international goal followed during a 3-0 home win over Latvia in current manager Thomas Tuchel’s second match in charge, with Eze making his first start under the German in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal in June.
Nigeria had been keen to cap Eze, who has Nigerian parents and admitted he was yet to decide which country to play for while on England Under-21 duty in 2020.
Asked what brings the best out of him in 2023, Eze told The Athletic: “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.”
Eze injury history
Eze was out for more than five months in 2021 with an Achilles tendon problem but returned to play in all of Palace’s Premier League matches the following season.
He missed 12 matches in 2023/24 with separate hamstring, ankle and muscle injuries, and another hamstring problem caused him to miss three club and two international matches in 2024/25.
Arsenal transfers 2025/26
Eze is Arsenal’s seventh signing of the summer transfer window and third attacking addition.
England’s Noni Madueke joined for an initial £48.5m from Chelsea and Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres ended his spectacularly prolific stay at Sporting to sign in a £64m deal.
Denmark’s Christian Norgaard arrived from Brentford for a fee of up to £15 million and fellow midfielder Martin Zubimendi – a Spain international – came from Real Sociedad for £60m.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was a £5m signing from Chelsea who remains the world’s most expensive goalkeeper thanks to the £72m fee Chelsea paid Athletic Club for him in 2018.
Versatile 21-year-old defender Cristhian Mosquera cost £13m from Valencia.
