Eberechi Eze 'signs' for Arsenal this summer as big attacking decision made

Arsenal are looking to bolster their attack in the transfer window, with the Gunners keen on signing Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze this summer.

A striker seems the priority for Arsenal this summer, but there are other parts of the squad that Mikel Arteta is also looking to improve, with Crystal Palace's Eze emerging as a target for the Gunners. football.london exclusively reported in May that Arsenal were interested in signing Eze, and it's believed that the player is also keen on the move, with the English international's release clause £68million.

Eze had the best season of his career so far in the previous campaign, with the 27-year-old scoring 14 goals and grabbing 12 assists across all competitions for Crystal Palace. So, if Arsenal were to sign Eze this summer, how could he perform? Let's take a look.

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Arsenal's 2025/26 season simulated with Eberechi Eze

To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to move Eze to Arsenal in the summer transfer window before simulating the 2025/26 season. We also signed Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi for Arteta's side, with the duo both having agreed deals to join the Gunners.

Eze became an instant favourite of Arteta's, with his versatility allowing him to play on the left wing and also in midfield. It didn't take long for the Englishman to claim the left-wing spot as his own though, and in his first season at the club, the 27-year-old was one of the best performers.

Only William Saliba and David Raya (51) made more appearances than Eze (50) as he became one of the first names on the teamsheet for Arteta. It was clear to see why, with Eze scoring 15 goals and grabbing 11 assists for the Gunners while also averaging the joint-third-best average rating at the club (7.31).

At the end of the 2025/26 season, Football Manager 2024 put together an overall best Arsenal XI, based on performances, statistics, and other metrics. This is what it looked like:

Full Arsenal best XI: (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Eze.

Eze made Arsenal's best XI on the left wing, with Gabriel Martinelli struggling for gametime following the signing of the Palace man. He was joined in attack by Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, with the German scoring just 12 goals across all competitions.

In the Premier League, Arsenal were impressive for the majority of the season, though a tough run between November and December saw Arteta's side win just one in six as they fell off the pace of the leaders. Manchester City proved to be too strong in the simulation, with Arsenal finishing way behind the winners in third place.

23 wins, nine draws and six defeats saw Arsenal end the campaign with 78 points, six fewer than Liverpool in second and 12 fewer than winners Man City. The Gunners were the second-highest scorers in the league though, with Eze's addition adding goals to their attack.

Elsewhere, Arsenal almost won a trophy in the simulation, but a 2-1 loss to Liverpool saw them lose the FA Cup final. Their Carabao Cup run ended in the quarter-finals to Newcastle United, while Arteta's side got to the semi-finals of the Champions League where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Inter.