SPORTbible

Arsenal are set to hijack a second Tottenham transfer following the signing of Eberechi Eze as David Ornstein has dropped a major update.

Arsenal have splashed the cash this summer, having snapped up the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi.

Gyokeres, who issued a message to his critics after his brace against Leeds United last weekend, cost the Gunners £64 million while they shelled out £60 million to acquire Zubimendi.

And the club are working on further reinforcements ahead of next month's transfer deadline, having unveiled Eze against Leeds.

According to Ornstein, Arsenal are 'working on a deal' to sign Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal, however, is subject to player exits as they look to balance their books, having signed seven new players this summer.

Hincapie, who can play as a centre-back or a left-back, is under contract at Leverkusen until 2029, but has informed the club of his desire to leave this summer.

The 23-year-old has a release clause of €60 million (£52 million), although, per the report, efforts are being made to lower that fee to a more realistic market value.

Hincapie's preference is to join Arsenal, who are ready to push for him should departures at the Emirates materialise.

Ornstein's report comes just hours after Fabrizio Romano claimed Spurs had made an approach for the Ecuadorian.

They proposed a loan deal with an obligation to trigger his release clause next summer and started discussing personal teams.

But it appears Arsenal are set to pip their cross-city rivals to the signing of Hincapie - just like they did with Eze.

If Arsenal can get the deal over the line, Hincapie, who has featured prominently on the club's recruitment lists for some time, would be the second defender to arrive this summer following the transfer of Cristhian Mosquera, who joined from Valencia for £17 million.

Who could Arsenal sell this summer?

As mentioned, Arsenal have signed seven new players this summer.

An eighth signing could be on the way if the club can successfully offload players ahead of the September 1 deadline.

Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson are among the players who could be let go.

Porto are pursuing a move for Kiwior, while Fulham are interested in signing Nelson after he enjoyed a loan spell at Craven Cottage last season.

Jamie O'Hara has hit out at Arsenal after the Premier League side unveiled new signing Eberechi Eze ahead of their match against Leeds United.

Shortly before Arsenal produced a dominant win over newly-promoted side Leeds United at the Emirates, Gunners fans were treated to the official unveiling of new signing Eberechi Eze.

Despite reportedly agreeing with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the Crystal Palace decided instead to sign for boyhood club Arsenal in what is viewed as a major statement signing for Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal will pay an initial fee of £60million for the the 27-year-old, with a further £7.5m potentially being added on if certain bonuses are met.

As he walked out onto the Emirates pitch for the first time as an Arsenal player, fans in the stadium made their feelings about the new signing clear, but former Tottenham player O'Hara wasn't happy with the unveiling.

Although Eze's debut likely to come during next week's title clash with Liverpool, his unveiling at the Emirates showed him that fans are seriously excited to have him at the club.

Shortly before his unveiling at the Emirates, Arsenal announced the signing with a video featuring Eze and club legend Ian Wright on social media.

But it appears that O'Hara was not impressed with the video, as he criticised it while watching it live on talkSPORT, saying: “What have I just watched there? Seriously, what am I watching? It’s embarrassing, mate, Wrighty should know better as well."

To which co-host Jason Cundy replied: "No one does cringe like Arsenal. It's the way, it's the modern world. Social media now, it's where it all goes off.

"By the way, what a signing, don't be getting bitter!"

Prompting O'Hara to state: "He’s a good player. He ain’t Messi. Do you know what I mean? Come on, he’s a decent player. They’re bigging him up like they’ve signed Erling Haaland.”

With Crystal Palace set to receive a reported £67.5m for their star player, Eze's move to the Gunners takes Arsenal's total spending this summer to around £250million.

Viktor Gyokeres, who scored two at the Emirates on Saturday, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi are just some of the other players who have joined Arsenal in recent weeks.

Djed Spence has fired a brutal dig at a Manchester City player after Tottenham's 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad Stadium.

Spurs star Spence was part of the defence that kept their second consecutive clean sheet this season after last weekend's 3-0 victory over Burnley.

Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha both got on the scoresheet for Thomas Frank's side in Manchester.

Palhinha capitalised on an error from City's new £27 million goalkeeper James Trafford, who was preferred to Ederson in the starting XI.

The hosts had relatively few clear-cut chances throughout the 90 minutes, though Guglielmo Vicario pulled off a good save to deny Omar Marmoush with the scores at 0-0.

It is two wins out of two for Spurs, with City failing to build on their 4-0 thrashing of Wolves last weekend.

Spence, who is a natural right-back but was moved to the opposite flank by Ange Postecoglou last season after an injury to Destiny Udogie, again lined up at left-back at the Etihad Stadium amid Udogie's latest absence.

Taking to Instagram, he posted a series of photos from the game alongside the caption: "Bring me your favourite winger #GODSPEED."

Spence was up against Oscar Bobb, and City right-back Rico Lewis, during the game, with neither attacking player having any significant impact on proceedings at the Etihad Stadium.

Thomas Frank on Spurs win over Man City

Speaking after the game, Spurs boss Frank praised his side's performance: "It was a real team performance. So happy with the performance and the win.

"The goal changed a bit of momentum, and since the goal I think we were on top for more or less the rest of the game.

"The second half, exceptional. The way we came out, still wanting to play, still wanting to open up, high pressure, really aggressive. That, I'm really proud of.

"Then, of course, the clean sheet mentality. The clean sheet is really important, because it's then easier to win football matches. Big credit to the staff and the players - the high pressure, middle pressure, lower block, defending the box... so important. Last year was six clean sheets, and we need to keep going."

Phil Foden could be seen laughing on the Manchester City bench, just moments after Spurs made it 2-0 – and fans think they've worked out why.

It was a first half to forget for Pep Guardiola and his side on Saturday afternoon as goals from Brennan Johnson and summer signing Joao Palhinha gave the visitors a deserved lead at the Etihad.

James Trafford, who became Manchester City's sixth signing of the summer after completing a £27 million move from Burnley, was preferred to last season's first-choice Ederson.

But the 22-year-old goalkeeper made a glaring error, just moments before Palhinha doubled Tottenham's lead with moments remaining of the first half.

Cameras soon ventured over to the City bench as Jeremy Doku, Abdukodir Khusanov and Matheus Nunes looked on stone-faced, but to the surprise of many, Phil Foden burst out laughing.

Some fans on social media believe Foden was reacting to Spurs' away support, who could be heard singing: "Champions of Europe, we know what we are" as they took a surprise 2-0 lead.

One said: "Foden just laughing at them for singing 'Champions of Europe'", while another commented: "Foden laughing off the Spurs fans chant 'CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE!!!'"

A third wrote: "So why is Foden laughing at the Champions of Europe chant? Are we wrong?"

A fourth said: "Phil Foden is laughing at the "Champions of Europe" chant," and a fifth added: "Phil Foden couldn’t believe his ears when he heard Spurs fans singing 'Champions of Europe we know who we are.'"

Foden struggled for large parts of last season, but Pep Guardiola is optimistic the midfielder will be back to his best in the coming months.

“Phil is a top-class, extraordinary player," he said ahead of Saturday's clash against Spurs. "The last Premier League we won, he was massively important. He was the best player in the Premier League.

“Always I try to convince him he can be better, can read the situations better. But I never would doubt the quality of Phil and I only want his joy to be playing again and be happy. Phil is something unique.

“(Last season) was the first season after six or seven (seasons) when everything dropped a little bit. If he learned the lesson that would be great."

Guardiola added: “There are always seasons that you cannot be like you were, but Phil has been incredibly consistent and incredible in these many years, and this is what we are looking for (again).”

Tottenham have reportedly found their replacement for Arsenal-bound forward Eberechi Eze but the deal could hinge on the approval of a Gunners legend.

Spurs looked set to sign the England and Crystal Palace star after he inspired the Eagles to victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City in May.

Eze has also impressed on the international stage, having won 12 caps and scored one goal for the Three Lions since his debut in June 2023.

However, just as the deal appeared to be edging over the line, Spurs’ North London rivals hijacked it - luring Eze to the Emirates and leaving Thomas Frank’s transfer strategy in tatters.

To make matters worse, this is not the first time that Spurs have had their transfer plans scuppered this summer.

The 2025 UEFA Europa League winners were close to signing Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White until his club convinced him to sign a new deal instead.

The Times has now reported that Spurs have turned their attention to a new target in the form of Como attacking midfielder Nico Paz.

The 20-year-old Argentina international is one of the most exciting young talents in Serie A after scoring six goals and producing nine assists in 35 league appearances last term.

But Spurs may face another hurdle in their bid to get their man, though, with Como managed by one of the greatest Arsenal midfielders of all time, Cesc Fabregas.

As a result, the Spaniard would surely have a say in any deal for the former Real Madrid star, who Toni Kroos has described as an 'exceptional' talent.

Fabregas enjoyed a superb spell with the Gunners between 2003 and 2011 before leaving to join boyhood club Barcelona.

Tottenham desperately need to sign an attacking midfielder after James Maddison was ruled out of the majority of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Spurs replaced Europa League-winning coach Ange Postecoglou with former Brentford boss Frank at the start of the summer.

His squad will have to compete on several fronts, including in the UEFA Champions League and Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a massive blow as another of their top transfer targets has turned them down after missing out on Eberechi Eze.

Following weeks of reports linking Crystal Palace star Eze with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, a shocking report on Wednesday night revealed that he had instead completed a move to London rivals Arsenal.

The England international had reportedly agreed terms with Spurs and was set to join later this week until a late bid from the Gunners turned his head, leading to him agreeing to sign a deal after Palace's Conference League clash with Fredrikstad on Thursday.

Since then, Spurs have been left scrambling in the transfer market as they look to bring in a new statement signing before the window closes of September 1.

But a new report has revealed that they have been dealt yet another blow in the transfer market, as their next top target has publicly confirmed that he will not join Spurs this summer.

After James Maddison suffered a devastating injury in pre-season that will likely rule him out of the entire 2025/26 season, Spurs immediately began looking for a new number 10 in the transfer window.

Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White was their first choice, but the Englishman decided instead to pen a new deal with his current club, leading Spurs to their failed pursuit of Eze.

After missing out on the Crystal Palace forward, the Lilywhite have turned their attention to several other options, including Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, who recently took home the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

But now, Rogers appears to have shut down any rumours that he could leave the midlands club this summer in an interview with The Times.

When asked about Villa's attitude that he is not for sale this summer, he said: “I’m happy here. I love football. I love nothing more than just coming out on the pitch and playing football and that’s what I’m doing.

"I don’t think about anything else. I can’t predict the next 12 months or anything in the future. It’s just about playing football, enjoying my football and showing everyone what I can do.”

An Arsenal player has decided to leave the club in a transfer set to be agreed just hours after the signing of Eberechi Eze.

Following months of reports linking Crystal Palace star Eze with a move to the Emirates, recent reports have suggested that the deal has finally been completed.

Despite the England international reportedly agreeing terms with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, a late bid from Arsenal turned his head and he is now set to sign a contract with the Gunners after Palace's Conference League clash with Fredrikstad on Thursday.

It is believed that Arsenal will pay a transfer fee worth around £68million for the 27-year-old, who joined the Eagles from Queen's Park Rangers in the summer of 2020 in a deal worth around £17m.

But it appears that not everyone at Arsenal is impressed by the transfer, as one player is set to leave the club before the window closes despite Eze's imminent arrival.

Throughout the summer several Arsenal players have left the club, including Kieran Tierney, Jorginho and Takehiro Tomiyasu who all left the club following the end of their contracts.

The likes of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have also been linked with a transfer away from the club, but it appears that goalkeeper Karl Hein will be the next to leave.

In recent weeks, the Estonian keeper has been top of the list for SV Werder Bremen as the Bundesliga side lost first choice keeper Michael Zetterer to rivals Eintracht Frankfurt.

According to German outlet Kicker, free agent Alexander Schwolow, who had been under contract with league rivals Union Berlin until July, was also part of the shortlist, but Werder Bremen have now decided to pursue Hein.

The 23-year-old, who has 39 international caps for Estonia, spent last season on loan with Spanish club Real Valladolid CF, who finished bottom of La Liga last season.

Hein made 31 La Liga appearances for Valladolid last season, keeping just five clean sheets and conceding 68 goals.

However, it appears that Hein will have to fight for his place in Werder Bremen's starting lineup, with 21-year-old Mio Backhaus expected to become the staring keeper at the club having deputised Zetterer last season.

Seemingly confirming this, Zetterer offered words of encouragement to the youngster when speaking to fans before his move to Frankfurt.

He said: "Do me a favour: Support the young man who will now be between the posts, just as you supported me."

Arsenal completed an unreal transfer hijack as they pipped north London rivals Tottenham to the signing of Eberechi Eze.

Spurs had cooled their interest in the Crystal Palace star earlier in the summer but returned for Eze after James Maddison suffered a season-ending ACL injury at the start of August. In that time, Arsenal, who were the frontrunners for the 27-year-old, opted to step away from any potential deal for the attacker.

However, confirmation that Kai Havertz had sustained a knee injury on Wednesday prompted Arsenal to dip back into the market for Eze and they are close to confirming his arrival from Palace having been given the ‘Here We Go!’ treatment from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

Spurs miss out on Eze to Arsenal

Palace boss Oliver Glasner has confirmed, though, that Eze will start for the south London side when they take on Fredrikstad in their UEFA Conference League playoff on Thursday night.

“Many of you were surprised [Eze] and Marc [Guehi] started against Chelsea, most of you will be surprised that they will start again tomorrow,” the Austrian is quoted as saying by The Standard.

“They are committed to the team. The player gives 100% because he is under contract. We don't have to say thank you every day, he is getting a few pounds every week.”

That has heightened worries that Eze would therefore be cup tied for Arsenal’s Champions League campaign with the former QPR man tipped to make his European debut in what is expected to be his final Palace appearance.

Fear not though Arsenal fans as Eze will be fine to take part in Europe’s elite club competition this season.

Will Eze be banned from the Champions League?

UEFA regulations allow for a player to represent more than one club per season in their competitions, but only under certain stipulations. A player who represents a team in a playoff or qualifying for any of UEFA’s top three competitions – Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League – can then represent a different side from the league phase of another competition.

As Palace’s meeting with Fredrikstad on Thursday night is a playoff, he is therefore free to represent Arsenal in the league phase of the Champions League.

The Gunners have already progressed to the league stage of Europe’s elite competition having finished second in the Premier League, meaning they’ll have no issues registering Eze for the Champions League next month.

Eze is set to be the latest in a long line of new additions at the Emirates, with Arsenal busy in the market as they look to end a lengthy wait for the Premier League title.

The Gunners have added Kepa, Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke to the squad already this summer.

Spurs are now targeting another England international after Arsenal pipped them to a move for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze.

Eze, 27, was heavily linked with Spurs in recent weeks, with some reports suggesting that he had made it clear that he wanted to join Thomas Frank’s side.

However, on Wednesday evening, reports from The Athletic’s David Ornstein first claimed that Arsenal had “made their move” for Eze, who “wants to join them”.

Later in the evening, Orstein issued an update claiming that Arsenal and Eze have "reached an agreement in principle” about a deal worth £68m.

Thursday’s Europa Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad is expected to be the 27-year-old’s final game for the Eagles before he officially becomes an Arsenal player.

Eze will become the Gunners’ seventh signing of the summer, with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres having arrived earlier in the window.

But where does this leave Spurs?

Well, Frank and those associated with Spurs will, no doubt, be disappointed that they couldn’t land Eze, but according to reports, they have already moved on to an alternative.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano explained how Tottenham view Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers as “one of the dream targets” when he spoke on his YouTube channel last night.

"What happens with Tottenham now? They started making some calls today already to try and understand the situation for new players to add to their squad," Romano said.

“For example, I can tell you that one of the dream targets they have at Tottenham internally is Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa. But it's seen as a very difficult deal because Villa don't want to lose the player.

“So, people in the industry believe that this deal is almost impossible for Morgan Rogers, but I can guarantee you that Tottenham are thinking internally about him as a perfect candidate.”

Rogers, who is contracted to the Midlands side until 2030, enjoyed a breakout season at Villa in 2024/25, during which he registered 19 goal contributions, earning him the PFA Young Player of the Year award earlier this week.

Villa reportedly value the England international to be worth around £100m, which could prove too much for Spurs who have already spent £126m on Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel, Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic, Kota Takai and Joao Palinha (loan) during the summer transfer window.

TalkSPORT co-host Jamie O'Hara lost his cool on Wednesday night after the ex-Tottenham midfielder found out Arsenal had hijacked his former club's move for Eberechi Eze.

Eze looked set to join Spurs ahead of next month's transfer deadline, with reports emerging that chairmen Daniel Levy and Steve Parish were in direct contact.

To get the deal done, the North London club were willing to offer £55 million plus £5 million in add-ons for the Crystal Palace winger, who has been one of their standout players in recent seasons.

But in a surprise turn of events, Arsenal made a late swoop to sign the England international, with The Athletic reporting that the club have reached an agreement in principle with Palace worth in the region of £68 million.

On Wednesday evening, the news started to filter through to the talkSPORT studio, where Jamie O'Hara and Jason Cundy were hosting the Sports Bar show.

As you can see from the footage above, Cundy was eager to try and wind up a furious O'Hara. "Do you know who you are? You're the Newcastle of the south," he said, as his co-host burst into laughter.

"You think you're such a big club," Cundy added. "You both won your first trophy in a generation, right? You both miss out on signings. You both think you're massive. And you both can't get anything over the line."

O'Hara would proceed to lash out at Spurs's inability to get a deal over the line.

"I'm disappointed. We should have had this deal done weeks ago," he said. "It serves Daniel Levy right, it serves Spurs right, because it's the same old Tottenham, it happens every single season. We are penny pinchers. It's happened again.

"It's happened again! And we're going to miss out on a top-quality player who's proven in the Premier League. Just pay the money and get the player over the line, we need him!"

O'Hara added: "Maddison has done his ACL. We needed Eze, we needed him, and it's an absolute joke that we are going to lose him out to Arsenal of all teams, who just walk in with a £60 million bid, which is what he's worth, and get a deal over the line in a couple of hours."

What Eberechi Eze has said about Arsenal following his release at 13

Eze, who was let go by Arsenal as a 13-year-old, has often revealed his admiration for the Gunners. In fact, he revealed back in 2018 that his favourite team is the North London club.

While the winger was playing for Queens Park Rangers, he told Alessandro Morolli-Schiavone: “I just supported them from young, 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… obviously to play for the club you support, that’s what I wanted to do. I’ve grown a love for the team.”

Eze has previously opened up about being released by Arsenal.

Speaking to Rising Ballers, he said: "My dream was to play for them, so hearing them say no at 13 that was tough, and I remember like training after I got released and I couldn't focus."

Eze added: "I was crying, but I think that helped me so much in the other rejections because if I can get through Arsenal releasing me, I can get through any other club releasing me. My mindset was if it was not going to be Arsenal, I have to find somewhere else."