Eberechi Eze has linked with a move to Arsenal for much of the summer but the Crystal Palace talisman has been told not to sign for the Gunners for one main reason
Eberechi Eze has been told to savour the freedom he has at Crystal Palace and reject a summer transfer to Arsenal. The Gunners have routinely been linked with a £60million swoop for the 27-year-old this summer, but details over the progress of the potential deal have been far and few between.
Eze fired Palace to their first-ever major honour when netting the winning goal in their FA Cup final win over Manchester City. That capped off a season where he scored a career-best 14 goals and contributed 11 assists across all competitions.
The England star would be Mikel Arteta's seventh summer signing in what has been an expensive window for the Premier League side. While Palace would certainly hope to keep their talisman, it's a transfer that Mikael Silvestre believes Eze should reject due to the sheer amount of competition he'll face at the Emirates Stadium.
The former Manchester United and Arsenal defender claimed that the attacking midfielder has the perfect situation with Palace and would struggle to establish himself in the starting line-up at the north London side.
Speaking to Hajper, the Frenchman said: "Eberechi Eze to Arsenal? I don't think it'd be good for him, to be honest, because there is a lot of competition and because he has so much joy and freedom at Crystal Palace.
"Going to Arsenal would, I think, be difficult because of the competition for places. But I like him a lot. Since his early days, he has been terrific. It’s a shame he's had quite a lot of muscle injuries and he's missed some parts of the season. But whenever he's fit and ready, he is a top player."
Despite Silvestre's worry of Eze, Bukayo Saka has already indirectly warned his Gunners team-mates they'd face a fight for their position having last year heaped praise on the Palace star, admitting he was most impressed by him during England training.
"Eze has been class in training," the 23-year-old said. "He has impressed me the most, I would say." With two years left on his contract at Selhurst Park, Palace are in a strong negotiating position should they opt to sell Eze.
However, it would be a departure that rocks the squad and one that Palace boss Oliver Glasner would surely hope to avoid. It's been a quiet window in terms of incomings for Palace, who've welcomed only two new players and spent just £3m in the process.
The Austrian revealed his frustration with the lack of arrivals this summer and admitted he hopes there are no more outgoings until the end of the window. Speaking to newspaper Kronen Zeitung in his home country, Glasner said: "Even though all the players are still here, we haven't made the most of the transfer window so far.
"As of now, I have 17 outfield players. I hope we don't lose any more. If that happens and we get four new ones on deadline day like last year, another false start is possible."