David Ornstein hints Arsenal have done something they are not ‘comfortable with’ to pinch Eze away from Tottenham

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Eberechi Eze was close to joining Tottenham after Arsenal backed out of the race.

The England international is expected to start for Crystal Palace in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad on Thursday, and a £60m move to Spurs was anticipated to follow.

TBR Football understand Arsenal viewed Eze only as a No.10 – and therefore chose not to make a serious push for his signature to avoid adding competition for Ethan Nwaneri in the central attacking areas.

However – in a new update – The Athletic believe Arsenal have now come back to the negotiating table after Kai Havertz suffered a knee injury, and the man from Greenwich is set to move to the Emirates Stadium.

Before this news emerged, David Ornstein suggested Arsenal deemed Eberechi Eze to be too expensive, a stance which has now quite evidently changed as the Gunners dig deep into their pockets.

David Ornstein shares the viewpoint of Arsenal over Eberechi Eze before Kai Havertz injury

Speaking on the Sky Mobile Transfer Show before this sudden news broke, the respected journalist said: “Arsenal love Eberechi Eze, and if the price had been in the £40m range – maybe you could push it a bit higher – then perhaps it would be a different conversation.

“If his move to Tottenham touches £60m, that is not a place (fee) Arsenal were comfortable with.”

The fee Tottenham had agreed was understood to be £55m with an additional £5m in bonus payments – and Arsenal are believed to have matched this – so it is expected to now reach the £60m mark.

It was a stance that could have drawn some anger from Arsenal supporters, especially as £52m was spent to sign a backup winger in Noni Madueke.

Arsenal fans were furious with Martin Odegaard after the 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday for his lack of incisive passes when attacking, so someone like Eze will help to take the pressure off the Norwegian.

Darren Bent also criticised Odegaard for overcomplicating his passes, so perhaps the Arsenal No.8 is simply feeling the pressure of being the primary creator for Mikel Arteta.

Mikel Arteta still needs to give Ethan Nwaneri a genuine chance

Despite Arteta now performing a U-turn over Eze, the Spaniard still needs to start showing some faith in Nwaneri.

The Arsenal No.22 was not given a single second of action at Old Trafford, and the majority of his 11 Premier League starts last season came after serious injuries to Bukayo Saka and Havertz.

Therefore, Arteta is yet to prove he admires Nwaneri as much as he claims to in the media.