'I thought I was joining Tottenham but then Arsenal called and I immediately signed'

Eberechi Eze is not the first player to snub Tottenham for Arsenal, as Takehiro Tomiyasu nearly signed for Spurs before a last-minute U-turn. The Japanese full-back was welcomed as part of a major overhaul of Mikel Arteta's Gunners squad in 2021, arriving the same summer as Ben White and Martin Odegaard.

And while Arsenal paid £19.8million for the former Bologna stalwart, Tomiyasu could have made his way to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the day instead of the Emirates. Recounting a whirlwind deadline day move with DAZN Japan, Tomiyasu said: "I thought I wasn’t able to join Arsenal.

"I thought I was going to Spurs. On deadline day, I rejected them. Arsenal asked me to join them and I did immediately."

READ MORE: Eberechi Eze signing could yet spark dressing room drama around three Arsenal players

READ MORE: Tottenham stung by Arsenal again after star was offered Spurs contract only to join Gunners

The 26-year-old has turned out 84 times for the Gunners since making the move from Serie A, but has fallen out of favour to the likes of White and Jurrien Timber. However, that hasn't prevented his team-mates from showering him with praise over the years for his performances and work ethic.

White said of the star in 2021: "Obviously, you’ve all seen how he’s performed when he’s playing for Arsenal. He’s such a nice guy. He fitted straight in when he came. All the boys love him and he’s doing the business on the pitch as well. He’s doing really well."

History looks set to repeat itself, given that Arsenal have seemingly won the race to secure the signature of Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze. Spurs felt that they had an agreement in place with the Eagles for the versatile attacking midfielder after chasing his services all summer.

But it now appears as though their north London rivals have once more beaten them to the punch. The Gunners will pay a guaranteed £60m for Eze to seal the deal, as well as £7.5m in performance-related add-ons.

He will arrive at the club on Friday to complete a medical, despite being expected to feature in Palace's Europa League clash with Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park on Thursday evening. Eze is keen to play despite his imminent transfer but Palace could still pull him from the match.

The move will not only come as a huge blow to Spurs, who are looking to revamp their squad ahead of deadline day under Thomas Frank, but also to Palace and Oliver Glasner.

The 27-year-old, who has been capped 11 times for England, has been a shining light at Selhurst Park since securing a £19.5m move from Queens Park Rangers in 2020. Not only has he scored 40 goals and provided 28 assists in 169 outings for his club, but he was also instrumental in Palace's 1-0 FA Cup win over Manchester City in May, scoring the game-winning goal.

He also featured in the Eagles' Community Shield victory over Liverpool earlier this month and has started the fresh Premier League campaign in good form, despite having an impressive free-kick goal against Chelsea controversially ruled out due to encroachment on Marc Guehi's part.

Eze isn't the only star who could part ways with the south London side this summer, with Guehi also linked with a move to Liverpool ahead of September 1. The 25-year-old is into the last year of his contract with Palace, and is seen as a good fit as Arne Slot looks to wrap up his own impressive transfer window in style.

It all depends on whether the Reds are willing to meet Guehi's £45m valuation at present, especially considering it is thought that the Premier League winners could still be in the running for a late move for Newcastle United's Alexander Isak.

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