Mikel Arteta sees ‘more to come’ as Eberechi Eze prepares for first derby

Arsenal hijacked Spurs' bid to sign Eze during the summer.

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025 - 21:31

Andy Sims

Mikel Arteta says he cannot wait for Eberechi Eze to experience what promises to be a particularly spicy north London derby.

If Tottenham had got their way in the summer, Eze would be turning out for them at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

But Arsenal spectacularly hijacked the deal at the 11th hour, agreeing a £67.5million deal with Crystal Palace for the England forward.

Now the Gunners can twist the knife again when their neighbours pop round on Sunday afternoon.

Arteta insisted he has no special advice for Eze on his derby debut, and added: “I’m very happy that he is with us.

“Over the years he had many options to go to different places. In the end, he was allowed to leave and he chose to come here, which I’m very, very happy and proud of.

“It’s going to be a game that I can’t wait for him to experience because it’s very special.

“My feeling when I spoke to him was that he wanted to join. It’s all about timing as well in football, which is something very difficult to predict and maybe it doesn’t work.

“But I’m very glad that it did work, it worked in a great way. I’m very happy with what he’s doing, what he can do for the club and the team, and it’s just the start of the journey.”

Eze has made a solid if unspectacular start to life in Arsenal red, scoring his first Premier League goal against his old club Palace last month.

“There’s a lot more to come, because those relations you have to build and a creative player needs to understand that,” added Arteta. “It’s all about connections and timing and about being in flow.

“He’s playing in a different position, the more he’s settled in one of the positions and has had to interact with players a bit more freely, which he’s doing at the moment, his natural talent will come out and he will have an even bigger impact on the team.”