Departing Eze misses his Selhurst farewell as Palace attack struggles without him

The Arsenal-bound star had been expected to play in Palace's historic European bow but was notable only by his absence

Thu, 21 Aug, 2025 - 22:11

Gerry Cox, Selhurst Park

UEFA Conference League: CRYSTAL PALACE 1 (Mateta 54) FREDRIKSTAD FK 0

Ringing the boss to say you're not feeling well enough to work, a day after running round full of energy, may be as unconvincing an excuse as 'the dog ate my homework'. For Eberechi Eze, Arsenal and Crystal Palace, there was a lot more at stake than a day off work – namely €80m.

That is the size of the fee Palace Chairman Steve Parish hopes to get from his friend Tim Lewis, the vice-chairman of Arsenal, who expect to unveil Eze as a Gunner on Friday afternoon.

It is by some margin a record fee for the south London club, and goes a long way to explaining why Eze was not at Selhurst Park on Thursday to participate in Palace's first foray into European competition, a UEFA Conference League qualifier first leg against Fredrikstad of Norway.

Eze's absence was a disappointment to Palace fans who wanted to give their FA Cup-winning goalscorer a hero's send-off, following the news on Wednesday night that a deal had been agreed with Arsenal rather than Tottenham. Adding to the air of mystery was Palace's reason for delaying a deal with Tottenham, namely that they wanted their England international to play in this historic game. Indeed manager Oliver Glasner confirmed on Wednesday morning that Eze and Marc Guehi, the club captain who is wanted by Liverpool, would both play.

And although Guehi played his part to the full, Eze's name was missing from the matchday squad.

“I expected that he would start today for us but he called me this morning and said he does not feel well to play the game,” explained Glasner before kickoff. “I have to accept it, and for everything else, you will have to ask the chairman.

“If a player tells me he is not ready to play then we have to accept it. It is my responsibility to prepare the players that play for us in the best way, so it was a quite busy day. It is not what you want to do, to change the starting 11 on matchday, especially in this situation the first time in European football for Crystal Palace but we have to approach the game in the best way.”

It was a disappointing end to a transfer tale that has rumbled on for several weeks, with Arsenal initially interested on Eze and then cooling off, prompting Tottenham to make a bid. We may never know whether Palace had any intention of selling to Spurs, or whether, as has been suggested, Arsenal went cool on the deal for a short period in order to persuade rising star Ethan Nwaneri, whose position would be threatened by Eze's arrival, to sign a new deal. Either way, Arsenal re-entered the race dramatically to agree a huge fee for a player they deemed not good enough after three years in their academy over a decade ago.

While Eze will undoubtedly add immense firepower to the Gunners, Palace look blunt without him. They struggled to carve many clear chances against the limited Norwegians, and the only goal of a tepid game was scruffy, a deflection from Jean-Philippe Mateta diverting a mis-hit volley by Will Hughes early in the second half.

At least Glasner should now have some funds to go shopping for attacking reinforcements, and may also have to plug a big gap in his defence if Liverpool follow up their interest in Guehi. The Reds' priority is to wrap up a deal for Alexander Isak, the striker who has been cast as a pantomime villain by Newcastle United's supporters for his antics in trying to force a move to Anfield.

Up until last night, Eze was seen as the antithesis of Isak, but his absence added a slightly sour footnote to his Palace career.

If Eze has indeed played his last game for the club, Palace fans have been denied the chance to give him a proper send-off.

Crystal Palace 3-4-3: Henderson 6; Lerma 6, Lacroix 6, Guehi 7; Munoz 6, Wharton 7, Hughes 6, Sosa 6; Sarr 7, Mateta 7, Devenny 6 (Edouard 67)

Fredrikstad FK 4-5-1: Borsheim 6; Woledzi 5, Fredriksen 5, S. Owusu 6; Molde 5; L. Owusu 5 (Shein 83), Metcalfe 6, Eid 5, Ohlenschlaeger 5, Sorlokk 5 (Skogvold 60) ; Holten 4 (Nunes 62)

Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)

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