Arsenal Insider

Arsenal are among the clubs that should be worried about a big decision Tottenham Hotspur have made, according to Jamie O’Hara.

The Spurs-leaning pundit is no stranger to trying to get one over on Arsenal over the years, as difficult as it has been for the most part.

Admittedly, they did somehow win the Europa League last season, even though – in true Spursy fashion – they were an embarrassment in the Premier League.

However, O’Hara is now convinced that, this time, Tottenham have done something that will see them turn a corner.

Jamie O’Hara thinks Arsenal should be worried by Daniel Levy departure

Jamie O’Hara took to Sky Sports to claim that, with Daniel Levy stepping down as Tottenham chairman, it’s as though they have been unshackled.

“Spurs, now, are well and truly back,” began the pundit.

When asked whether Tottenham’s rivals should be worried, he replied: “Yeah, I think they should be worried. I do.

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“And you can laugh at me, you can click this up and say what you want, but Spurs now are well and truly back.

“I’m telling you, this could be the change of the guard. If we get the right investment, the right people in charge, and we have ambition to go and spend money.

“The foundations are there, the stadium is there, the facilities are there.

“If you’re prepared to pay the money, pay the wages and get the top players in, teams like Arsenal, teams like Chelsea, they should be worried.”

Well, we’ll see what happens. There’s always the risk it could be a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’.

The former Arsenal stalwart now overseeing decision-making at Tottenham

Arsenal fans recently joked that Levy’s exit was bad news for them, sarcastically deeming him a Gunners legend for how he – in their opinion – held Spurs back.

However, what’s interesting is that the man who will make day-to-day decisions at Tottenham is someone who was at Arsenal for years.

Vikai Venkatesham joined Arsenal from his role as a commercial manager with London 2012 and worked his way up at the North London club.

His biggest role at Arsenal was as CEO from 2020 to 2024, before eventually leaving and turning up at Spurs.

The world of football was rocked on Thursday evening as it was announced that after 25 years, Daniel Levy would be stepping down as the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal fans weren’t happy to see Levy leaving Tottenham as he’s overseen a rather barren 25 years on the trophy front.

Now, things could be set to change at Spurs as Daniel Levy is departing and a new era is dawning across the way in north London.

As much as Arsenal fans won’t like to hear it, Spurs are geared up for a successful period, they have the best stadium in the country that is a revenue-machine, their training ground is brilliant, and Thomas Frank is a very good coach.

Now, with this backroom shake-up, Tottenham may also improve behind-the-scenes, and that may be a worry for Arsenal, and particularly Josh Kroenke.

Josh Kroenke will be worried by Daniel Levy departure

Daniel Levy departing Tottenham could help propel Spurs into a new era.

As of right now, it’s unclear who will take up Levy’s post as Chairman, but it does appear Tottenham already have their ducks in a row.

Indeed, Johan Lange is in place as the Sporting Director, while Vinai Venkatesham arrived at Spurs over the summer as the new CEO.

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Venkatesham’s importance and influence at Tottenham is likely to increase after Levy’s departure, and that’s something Arsenal should be worried about.

Indeed, Arsenal know just what a savvy operator Venkatesham is. He played a key role at Arsenal in recent years in helping Mikel Arteta get this team back on track, and now, he could be set to do the same at Spurs.

Josh Kroenke always had a lot of respect for Venkatesham, and now, he’s set to play a key role in rebuilding Arsenal’s rivals.

What Josh Kroenke said when Vinai Venkatesham left Arsenal

Venkatesham was a very respected member of the Arsenal backroom team for a number of years before leaving to join Tottenham.

Venkatesham’s impact was very much appreciated by the higher-ups at Arsenal, so much so that Josh Kroenke gave a heartfelt thank you when he left the club.

“The Board is fully supportive of Vinai’s desire to pursue his next challenge. Whilst it is business as usual with everyone focused on the season ahead, we’d like to take this moment to thank him for his contribution and long service. Vinai will always be part of the Arsenal family and always welcome back at Emirates Stadium,” Kroenke said.

“Change and succession is something the club is well prepared for. The Board remains committed to our strategy and will address leadership change as we continue to drive the club forward.”

Kroenke clearly has a lot of appreciation for Venkatesham, but now, he’s going to turn from ally to rival and he could well help Tottenham get to a similar level to Arsenal in the coming years.

Arsenal gave their fans the best possible start to a first home Premier League game of the season with the signing of Eberechi Eze.

Arsenal had been linked with Eberechi Eze for much of the summer, but for a while, it looked as though they had cooled their interest in the Crystal Palace star.

This gave Tottenham Hotspur a chance to step in, but after weeks of negotiations, they fumbled big time as Arsenal decided to make their approach.

Within a few hours of the initial reports, Eze to Arsenal had reached “here we go” status – and now, the deal is officially done, complete with announcement.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish is a shrewd negotiator, but Arsenal had an ace up their sleeve that resulted in Spurs effectively getting ghosted for Eze.

Tim Lewis’ good relationship with Steve Parish helped Arsenal sign Eberechi Eze

It’s now common knowledge that Tottenham were in talks over Eze for some time before Arsenal swooped in and completed a deal in a matter of hours.

It’s also well known that Eze would have preferred a move to Arsenal over Spurs, but in the end, it was Palace’s preference too, according to The Athletic.

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The outlet has reported that negotiations between Tottenham and Palace had proven ‘difficult’.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s executive vice-chair Tim Lewis has a good relationship with Parish, which meant they kept in contact over Eze even when the Gunners cooled their interest.

And when Arsenal then decided to rekindle their interest, talks proceeded smoothly between the two clubs.

In addition, the outlet reported that, on Wednesday morning, Tottenham acquiesced to all of Palace’s demands over Eze.

‘They never heard back,’ wrote The Athletic. ‘Within hours, Parish had struck a deal with Arsenal.’

Eberechi Eze’s first word upon joining Arsenal

Arsenal dropped a superb announcement video for Eze’s arrival, which would have only been better had Sol Campbell also featured.

During the video, Highbury legend Ian Wright asked the questions: “Do you want to realise those dreams? Do you want The Arsenal?”

And Eze replied with a simple one-word response: “Obviously.”

Arsenal have also confirmed that Eze – who was unveiled to fans before the Leeds game – will wear the No. 10 shirt.

Arsenal will be looking to feed off the feel-good factor from the home supporters as they welcome Leeds United to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal fans are still revelling in the news that the club have beaten arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the signing of Eberechi Eze.

Spurs fans are distraught over losing Eze after they had an agreement in place with Crystal Palace for the England international.

It leaves Thomas Frank searching for another attacking talent to bolster his squad but former defender Michael Dawson has warned Tottenham away from going after another Arsenal transfer target.

Michael Dawson warns Tottenham Hotspur away from Arsenal transfer target Ademola Lookman

Had the Gunners missed out on the signing of Eze, Ademola Lookman was a player that was attracting interest from the club.

Lookman has skipped training at Atalanta during pre-season and his relationship with the club has become strained throughout the summer.

With Spurs still looking to add some more firepower to their attacking options and Andrea Berta also aware of any further market opportunities, Dawson doesn’t want his old side to rival Arsenal for Lookman.

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Dawson stated: “Ademola Lookman. Another player I like but would I go and sign him in what we’ve got in those wide areas? Probably not.”

Lookman has previous experience in the Premier League with the likes of Fulham and Everton but his career has really taken off over in Serie A.

The winger scored 20 goals in all competitions for Atalanta last season and grabbed the attention of the footballing world in the 2024 Europa League final by scoring a hat-trick against a formidable Bayer Leverkusen side.

Arsenal’s main focus for the rest of the transfer window is selling players in order to balance the books after a summer of spending.

PSR rules are not an issue at Arsenal with the club having ‘headroom’, however, player sales will be needed in order for future transfer business not to be affected.

Fabio Vieira is one player expected to depart the Emirates before the September 1st deadline and Bayern Munich have been mooted as a possible destination.

Stuttgart were interested in Vieira, however, they are reluctant to pay the asking price set by the Gunners. This one could rumble on until the final few hours of the window.

There has been an air of celebration at Arsenal over the past few days after the Gunners humiliated Tottenham Hotspur by signing Eberechi Eze from under Spurs’ noses.

Many Spurs fans were convinced that they were about to land Eberechi Eze at Arsenal’s expense – but they were proven wrong.

In the space of a few hours, the transfer rumour mill went from ‘Arsenal make approach for Eze‘ to ‘Arsenal have sealed Eze deal‘.

However, David Ornstein said something slightly worrying about Arsenal in the wake of the Eze deal, namely that the Gunners aren’t in a great position regarding FFP.

“Arsenal had a lot of headroom on Premier League PSR,” Ornstein said on The Athletic FC Podcast. “So that’s one thing in their favour.

“They did not have a lot of headroom on UEFA’s FFP, Financial Fair Play rules. They are tight on that. And so, some manoeuvring will need to be done.

“But right now, I’m not getting any sense that they’re in a panicked situation.”

GRV Media’s football finance expert Adam Williams has now spoken exclusively to Arsenal Insider about Arsenal’s current situation under UEFA’s financial rules.

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“I have been wondering about Arsenal’s status under UEFA’s financial rules for a while,” said Williams.

“There are two components of the UEFA system. A) Football Earnings and B) Squad Cost.

“On the Football Earnings side of things, they are absolutely fine. The loss limit is about £75m over three seasons with the maximum allowance, which Arsenal will get.

“They lost £14m in the last financial year, but that will have swung back to a decent profit when you add back expenses like infrastructure and youth investment, which are exempt from FFP.

“For 2024-25, they are going to post a decent profit even before those allowable expenses, so they have – I would guess – the scope to lose something like £100m-plus before Football Earnings becomes a concern.

“They aren’t going to get close to that. Remember, transfer fees are amortised over up to five years, so £250m worth of deals this summer is only going to impact the bottom line by £50m this financial year, which is what FFP is based on. So they are fine there.

“The issue is the Squad Cost element of the rules. Under this system, you’re not allowed to spend more than 70 per cent of revenue plus player sale profits on player and manager wages, transfers and agents’ fees.

“The complicated thing with this test is that it’s based on calendar years, not seasons. That makes things harder to work out, because financial years are reported in alignment with football seasons, so we can’t delineate in terms of what revenue or costs arose at what date.

“But let’s take 2023-24 as an example. Their revenue was £613.5m and their profit on player sales was £70m, so their relevant turnover was £683.5m.

“If this was a calendar year, that would give them a limit of £429.5m for wages, transfers and agents’ fees.

“Their wages were £328m and their amortisation was £171m, which is £499m total. So if UEFA had been assessing them based on that financial year, they would have been over the limit.

“The good thing is that, in 2024, the limit was 80 per cent, so they weren’t close to breaching. But it shows you how things are going to get tough.”

What Arsenal need to do to avoid FFP trouble

In a nutshell, Arsenal would need to make sales now if they are sailing close to the wind, as the January transfer window would be too late for them due to the calendar-year nature of the Squad Cost element.

Williams continued: “UEFA has begun to bare its teeth with the squad cost rule. Chelsea, Villa and a handful of others have received fines. Most of the total amount, however, is suspended pending compliance with a financial settlement.

“So basically, as long as you aren’t repeat offenders, you aren’t going to get a sporting sanction. For that reason, some people I speak to are thinking about it more as a luxury task, a cost of doing business.

“That said, it’s a headache Arsenal could do without. The thing is, because it’s a calendar-year test, if Arsenal are close to the bone, then they would need to make sales now. The January window will be too late.

“In one sense, however, I think Stan Kroenke will be pleased… If UEFA are properly enforcing the rules, it means other clubs will be spending less.

“This means Arsenal have to spend less to compete with them, which means Kroenke doesn’t have to underwrite financial losses at the Emirates. That’s the dynamic at play here.”

Arsenal fans have been rejoicing after their club swooped in and secured a deal for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze from under the noses of Tottenham Hotspur.

On Wednesday evening, David Ornstein reported that Arsenal had made their move for Eze, who Tottenham felt they were close to signing.

Within a few hours, Fabrizio Romano declared “here we go” on Eze to Arsenal, with Ornstein reporting that a £68million package had been agreed.

Tottenham fans are now all saying the same thing in the wake of Arsenal winning the race for Eze.

Tottenham fans fuming with Daniel Levy as Arsenal swoop in for Eberechi Eze

Spurs fans were all incensed with chairman Daniel Levy, claiming he was not proactive enough in getting a deal over the line when they were in pole position.

“Make no mistake – this is all on Levy,” one Tottenham fan said on X. “Havertz got hurt and they acted right away and got Eze.

“Madders [James Maddison] tore his ACL 17 days ago and still no replacement. Add that with the MGW transfer… 20 years of this.”

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Another fan said: “We’ve had a clear run at Eze for weeks and just like that, them lot gonna get it done in 48hrs.

“Pathetic from Levy & ENIC…”

The criticism kept coming, with one fan saying: “It’s the final straw for me.

“Doesn’t matter who we sign now if anyone at all as they won’t be as good as Eze. Levy has finished me this time. Gutted.”

Another fan wrote: “It all boils down to Levy not being sufficient in the window and not locking deals up and truth be told we ain’t a big enough club to compete for the best players, simple!

“Gibbs-White & Eze in the same window! JOKE CLUB!”

Another fan said: “Levy an absolute disgrace for bottling the Eze deal and letting Woolwich get him.

“Embarrassing and a fireable offense. It’s clearly time #LevyOut.”

What Eberechi Eze will bring to Arsenal

What a day it has been for Arsenal fans, with their club winning on three fronts with the Eze deal.

The first thing is making their arch-rivals look like complete fools by hijacking a deal for a player they genuinely thought they were close to signing.

The second thing is replacing Kai Havertz, who is expected to be on the sidelines due to a knee injury, and the third is bringing in an upgrade on the left.

Over the past few weeks, Arsenal fans have made it clear that a new left-wing option was a necessity.

“Whatever his role, he will look to find the space to impose maximum damage to the opposition with the sharpest efficiency,” Mark Carey wrote in The Athletic.

“In the modern game, those who can break a player-for-player press with a drop of the shoulder or a driving run forward have never been so valuable – opening up the opposition structure with a moment of individual quality as the dominoes begin to fall.

“Eze also has the ability to thread a pass forward when spaces open up in front of him, making him a double threat in the attacking third.”

Arsenal are closing in on a major transfer-related triumph over Tottenham Hotspur as Eberechi Eze’s transfer to the Emirates Stadium draws ever closer.

On Wednesday evening, David Ornstein dropped the big bombshell by reporting that Arsenal had made their move for Eze, who Spurs felt they were close to signing.

Since then, things have picked up pace, to the point that the Gunners are now reported to have struck a deal with Crystal Palace over Eze.

Fabrizio Romano has declared “here we go” on Eze to Arsenal, while Ornstein has reported how much the Gunners are set to pay for Eze, along with a big concession made to Palace.

Arsenal set to pay around £68million for Eberechi Eze

First up, Ornstein reported that Arsenal have reached an agreement with Palace to sign Eze for around £68million.

The fee is in the region of Eze’s now-expired release clause, and it matches what Tottenham were ready to pay for the England international.

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In addition, Arsenal’s concession to Palace is in the form of letting him play for Palace in their Europa Conference League play-off meeting against Fredrikstad on Thursday.

Ornstein previously said Palace had not finalised a deal with Tottenham because of this, while Arsenal ‘indicated a willingness to meet the conditions’.

Later on in the hour, Romano declared “here we go” on Eze to Arsenal, with a “verbal agreement in place between all parties”.

Romano said the package would be worth “in excess of £60million” and reiterated that Eze preferred the Gunners over Spurs.

“Arsenal win race over Tottenham, been in advanced talks for days but never sealed,” concluded Romano, to the delight of everyone connected with the Gunners.

Eberechi Eze has already declared his love for Arsenal

Back in 2018, Eze revealed in an interview with Alessandro Morolli-Schiavone that Arsenal were his favourite team.

“I just supported them from [a] young [age], the way they play… I played with them when I was younger as well,” said the now Arsenal-bound star.

Eze, then at QPR, added: “When I was younger, I used to love Thierry Henry, and that’s sort of why I decided to sign there [as a youth player].”

“Obviously to play for the club you support, that’s what I wanted to do… I’ve grown a love for the team.”

Tottenham Hotspur fan and talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara has made his feelings very clear about the prospect of losing out to Arsenal for Eberechi Eze.

Tottenham appeared to be leading the race for Eze for a while, though this was mostly due to Arsenal seemingly not showing much interest in the Crystal Palace man.

However, with Kai Havertz suffering a knee injury, Arsenal have now sprung into action in order to find a high-quality replacement.

David Ornstein has reported that negotiations are now underway between Arsenal and Palace over Eze – and better still, their path seems fairly clear.

Needless to say, Jamie O’Hara is not best pleased.

Jamie O’Hara says his ‘head’s gonna fall off with Spurs’ if Eberechi Eze joins Arsenal

Considering Tottenham appeared to be in pole position for Eberechi Eze, reports of Arsenal finally deciding to make a move and suddenly getting their noses in front have not gone down well among fans of the other club.

“My head’s gonna fall off with Spurs if we lose Eze to Arsenal,” O’Hara wrote on X.

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And predictably, Arsenal fans revelled in his dismay.

“When you’re small, you’re small,” one Gunners supporter said on X, while another wrote: “Lmaoooooo better let it fall already. Player has made his choice.”

Why Eberechi Eze to Arsenal should not be a surprise

O’Hara might seem surprised, but really, the only way Tottenham would have won the Eze race would’ve been if Arsenal never stepped in – and Spurs were aware of this.

Back in 2018, while Eze was playing for Queens Park Rangers, he revealed in an interview with Alessandro Morolli-Schiavone that his favourite team was Arsenal.

When asked why he liked the Gunners, Eze said: “I just supported them from [a] young [age], the way they play… I played with them when I was younger as well.”

He added: “When I was younger, I used to love Thierry Henry, and that’s sort of why I decided to sign there (as a youth player).

“Obviously to play for the club you support, that’s what I wanted to do… I’ve grown a love for the team.”

Morolli-Schiavone then asked: “You are a Gunners fan, so that means you rule out ever playing for Tottenham?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know about any of this. Maybe,” Eze replied.

Arsenal have been rocked by more injury news at the start of the new campaign.

Arsenal’s injury crisis last season plagued their chances of winning major silverware and Mikel Arteta will be desperate for his team’s luck to not repeat itself this campaign.

Kai Havertz has picked up a knee injury and there are suggestions that the Gunners may have to dip back into the transfer market given the extent of the problem for the German.

Fans had been hoping for another attacking signing before the injury, however, this now heightens the urgency. Theo Walcott thinks one of their targets should sign for their North London rivals though.

Theo Walcott thinks Eberechi Eze should sign for Tottenham Hotspur instead of Arsenal

Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘It’s Called Soccer’ podcast, Walcott has expressed his belief that Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze would be better suited to a move to Spurs this summer.

Spurs have reportedly agreed a deal for Eze, who was of interest to the Gunners throughout the summer before Ethan Nwaneri signed a new contract at the club.

Walcott stated: “I said this last week, he would play consistently at Tottenham every week. At Arsenal, we’re talking about a team who are dogging out games, there’s the pressure of winning the title with Arsenal in a World Cup year.

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“He would be guaranteed to play on that left side for Tottenham, maybe in the 10 as well with Maddison injured.

“The stadium is incredible too. From pure football terms, a very good move for him. I would have loved him at Arsenal, but in terms of football, the right decision.”

Ian Wright thinks Eze is ‘unplayable’ and despite the England star preferring a move to the Gunners, he now looks set to move to the other side of North London.

Andrea Berta has already strengthened the attack with the signings of Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke, however, the injury to Havertz will now see him once again look for options.

Eze would certainly solve some of Arsenal’s creative issues but whether the Gunners can hijack the deal at the last minute is highly doubtful.

Decision to keep Leandro Trossard now becomes clear at Arsenal

Leandro Trossard was a player that was expected to leave North London this summer as part of a number of sales in order to bring in another attacking addition.

Fans were angry over Trossard’s contract extension, however, the reason behind the move has now become clear with Arteta not wanting to leave himself short again this season up top.

Trossard can cover Gyokeres in the centre forward position in the absence of Havertz and of course, can be used on both flanks.

If the Gunners needed further firepower up top before Havertz’s injury, it has become even more of a necessity now and time is rapidly running out before the September 1st deadline.

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur aren’t just rivals on the pitch – they have often found themselves at loggerheads in the transfer market too.

Arsenal have competed for the Premier League title over the past few seasons, so they’ll have the edge over their North London rivals in terms of the best targets.

However, the fact Tottenham somehow managed to get into the 2025/26 Champions League means they’ll have more pulling power than usual.

Eberechi Eze is one player wanted by both Arsenal and Tottenham, and a report has emerged suggesting the Gunners are hesitating a little, which could cost them.

‘No proper transfer bid has yet materialised’ from Arsenal for Eberechi Eze

It’s no secret that Arsenal remain interested in Eze, a player who could potentially establish himself as the Gunners’ first-choice left-winger.

In addition, the Gunners view the England international as someone who can provide cover and competition for Martin Odegaard.

However, The Independent’s Miguel Delaney has reported that Spurs have ramped up interest in the 27-year-old after the injury to James Maddison.

Arsenal are ‘viewed as the Crystal Palace player’s first preference’, according to Delaney.

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However, ‘the fact that no proper transfer bid has yet materialised means there is a chance for Spurs to move forward.’

Tottenham are reported to be putting together a package for Palace to sign Eze, who is said to be open to joining the Lilywhites.

It is reported that Arsenal’s preference is to sell first, rather than risk making such a big signing and then being under pressure to sell before the end of the window.

Interestingly, the report suggests the Gunners are looking for an out-and-out left-winger ahead of Eze, suggesting the Palace star is not their first choice on that front.

Eberechi Eze’s release clause

There have been conflicting reports on Eze’s release clause.

Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday morning that Eze’s £68million clause has expired already, but Charles Watts believes it will expire on Friday 15 August.

Delaney has also reported that Eze’s release clause is active until 15 August for this window, meaning Arsenal still have an opportunity to trigger it and not have to strike a deal with Palace.