Arsenal have completed the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace - landing the England international from under the nose of arch rivals Tottenham.
The Gunners have spent £67.5million to secure the signature of the winger, who helped the Eagles claim FA Cup glory last season with goals in the semi-final and final. Eze has long been expected to eventually leave Selhurst Park and had favoured a move to the Emirates.
Arsenal will pay an initial £60m to sign the playmaker, with add-ons potentially taking the total fee to £67.5m. Eze will wear No.10 - the shirt number he had at Palace - at the Emirates Stadium. The 27-year-old produced the best scoring season of his career last term, finding the net 14 times, and he will now bolster a frontline that has also had Viktor Gyokeres added to it.
Eze is a boyhood Arsenal fan and played in their academy as a youngster. Tottenham though had agreed terms with both Palace and the player, but the deal wasn't totally finalised as the Eagles planned to use the winger for their Europa Conference League qualifier.
That left the door slightly open and Arsenal barged in as they acted on their long standing interest in the player. As soon as they came to the party and stumped up the cash it was an easy call for Eze, given his emotional connection.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta sent new Arsenal warning after securing Eberechi Eze transfer
READ MORE: Gary Neville labels Arsenal 'the only team you can trust' but still casts major title doubt
It is a huge blow for Thomas Frank, who is in the midst of his first summer in charge at Tottenham. After adding Mohamed Kudus from West Ham he missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White, who later signed a new deal at Nottingham Forest. Eze will now go down as another near miss.
The England star's versatility will prove a huge asset for Mikel Arteta this term. Arsenal already have a wealth of talent available to them in the form of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Ethan Nwaneri and Noni Madueke, another of their summer signings.
Eze played in Palace's season opener at Chelsea, seeing a free-kick strike disallowed by VAR, and is ready to go as and when Arteta wants to unleash him. Arsenal play Leeds on Saturday evening, but is likely to make his debut in an early test of their title credentials against Liverpool.
There will be more to follow on this breaking news storyand Mirror Sport will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible. Pleasecheck back regularly for updates on this developing story. Follow us onGoogle News,Flipboard,Apple News,Twitter,Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
You may also like
Miriam Margolyes 'wants to be put down' if health deteriorates further in update
'I drove 250 miles to Llandudno Travelodge - then drove straight back home again'
CBI searches home of Anil Ambani, RCom premises
Arsenal of reforms coming on multiple fronts, says PM Modi
MP's Bhopal New Hotspot For Drug Cartels, Cops Clueless