Rejected by Arsenal 14 years ago, Eze now taking the Wright route

The Crystal Palace forward was released by Arsenal aged 13 and rejected by others before his breakthrough at QPR

Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze celebrates scoring against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in April, 2025. Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

They say good things come to those who wait. But for Eberechi Eze, it has taken 14 years for his dream to come true. The England forward made a dramatic entrance during Crystal Palace’s open training session on Wednesday before their Conference League playoff when he was last to emerge from the changing room with frenzied anticipation that his expected move to Tottenham was close to being agreed.

Even if he had been aware of Arsenal’s intention to step up their longstanding interest in him, Eze was certainly giving nothing away when he signed autographs and spoke to supporters on his way out of Palace’s training ground in Beckenham.