With Eberechi Eze, Do Arsenal Finally Have Their Title-Winning Squad?

Should Arsenal complete the signing of Eberechi Eze, it will mark their seventh addition of the summer transfer window, and push their total outlay past £250 million. The club has backed Mikel Arteta to the hilt. Now it is time for him to deliver.

It’s fair to say that if Arsenal land Eberechi Eze – as it is looking increasingly likely – then the summer of 2025 could go down as one of their most successful transfer windows in a generation.

Viktor Gyökeres has arrived to plug their gaping hole at centre-forward. Martín Zubimendi is a technical, press-resistant passer in midfield. Noni Madueke adds quality depth behind Bukayo Saka. Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Nørgaard provide experience and leadership. Cristhian Mosquera is a high-upside, young centre-back who can learn from the league’s best pairing.

And now, a maverick creator in Eze, who is arguably the biggest coup of the lot. To prise him away from Tottenham’s grasp only makes it sweeter for the Gunners.

The Crystal Palace star is set to become Arsenal’s seventh signing of what has been a busy first summer under new sporting director Andrea Berta since his arrival from Atlético Madrid.

For years, Arsenal have invested heavily in Mikel Arteta’s vision, but this window feels different. After previously targeting robust, physical profiles in defence and midfield, this summer marks the first time they’ve truly unleashed on star quality in attack. Many believe that area has been the missing ingredient in the push for a Premier League title.

And make no mistake, after this summer’s business, that is the expectation. With this squad, Arsenal must secure silverware.

Despite significant spending in recent seasons, squad depth has long remained Arsenal’s main problem. In each of the past two campaigns, injuries and loss of form have derailed promising title challenges.

After their Champions League semi-final exit to Paris Saint-Germain last season, Arteta admitted as much: “We have to arrive in the competition at this stage with the full squad, [everyone] available, in [the] best condition. We haven’t got that.”

This summer changes that. Arsenal now boast the firepower to roll out two full starting XIs of genuine quality.

While the exact combinations below can be debated, the strength of their ‘second’ team underlines the depth at Arteta’s disposal. It’s full of players who would start for most clubs in the division, and should they be required to step into the ‘first’ XI, barring a few positions, there would be no discernible drop in quality.

And these two XIs don’t include Kai Havertz (who’s recently been sidelined with a serious-sounding knee injury), and multiple-time Premier League champions in Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The luxury of effectively having two high-quality starting XIs is something Manchester City have enjoyed under Pep Guardiola in their era of dominance, and one Arteta has long craved.

Speaking in pre-season, he said: “We’ve never had the demands that we have this season in terms of the competitions we have to play and the amount of games already that these guys have to play. So [depth] is very much needed, nothing different to any of the top teams in this country.”

Not only have they added depth, but Arsenal have managed to strengthen their first-choice starting lineup. Gyökeres is the number nine they’ve long craved, Zubimendi slots straight in at No. 6, and Eze offers an immediate upgrade on the inconsistent output from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left.

Though best as a number 10, Eze is likely to feature from the left for Arsenal, an area of the pitch the attacking midfielder is very familiar with:

The reason that Eze’s arrival is being greeted with such glee by Arsenal fans – aside from the emotional backstory that comes with a player returning to the club that released him at 13 – is because of what he represents: off-the-cuff individuality.

His maverick talent stands out as something Arteta’s side have been missing in recent years, particularly last season, where some of their attacking football felt too structured and too predictable. Eze will add some much-needed expression to the side.

“Why do I run with the ball? Why do I try things? Why am I creative?” he told BBC Sport earlier this year. “The reason is for the people who are watching. It’s what you’re doing to people in the stands and how you can get people off their feet; that’s what football’s about.”

The numbers certainly back up his ambition, and they show he will provide Arsenal with a profile they don’t currently have. Aside from Ethan Nwaneri, who sparkled in short bursts last campaign, Eze both attempted (4.6) and completed (2.3) more dribbles per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season than any other Palace or Arsenal player.

Gliding forward with the ball at his feet is at the heart of Eze’s game. He produced 40 chances for Palace last season after carrying the ball five metres or further: 25 when he carried and shot himself and 15 when carrying and creating a chance for a teammate. That tally was by far and away the highest of any Palace player, and no Arsenal player could eclipse it either.

As the below graphic shows, the majority of Eze’s chance-creating carries came from picking the ball up on the left and driving inside.

In fact, since he joined Palace in 2020, just 13 Premier League players rank ahead of him for total shots following a ball carry, and only four of them (Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins, Harvey Barnes and Wilfried Zaha) haven’t played for one of the traditional big six sides in that time. Bukayo Saka is the only Arsenal player in that list to feature above Eze.

The 27-year-old ended 2024-25 with 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, making it his most productive season as a Premier League player by a distance. It also beat his best campaign in the Championship, when he racked up 22 goal involvements in his final season at QPR in 2019-20.

And he has done it in a Palace side that do not place much emphasis on keeping the ball. They’ve averaged under 46% possession in each of the last three seasons.

He works incredibly hard when his side are out of possession – something that’s key in Arteta’s philosophy at Arsenal.

Of the 50 Premier League players to apply at least 1,200 pressures in the middle and final thirds of the pitch last season, only five (Antoine Semenyo, Dominic Solanke, Idrissa Gueye, João Gomes and Nicolas Jackson) had a higher proportion that were deemed high intensity pressures than Eze (71.4%).

Despite that, Eze is clearly capable of playing for a possession-dominant team. Comfortable on the ball in tight spaces, he never shies away from receiving passes in advanced positions.

Eze has spoken openly about the pain of being released by Arsenal as a youngster. Now he returns as one of the Premier League’s most exciting talents. He comes not just to add depth, but to provide the spark and the individuality that can finally carry Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 21 years.

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