Following a knee injury to Kai Havertz, Arsenal immediately made the decision to hijack Tottenham Hotspur’s move for Eberechi Eze.
Although Tottenham were closing in on a deal for Eze, Arsenal were always thought to be lurking in the background, even if their interest had cooled somewhat.
TBR Football revealed earlier this month that Arsenal had held talks with Eze, a player who has been subject to long-term interest in north London.
And now with Kai Havertz facing a spell on the sidelines, Arsenal have made their Eze move, blowing rivals Spurs out of the water.
Eze is delighted to join Arsenal, the side he’s supported ever since he played for the club as a youngster.
And although Havertz’s injury is a big blow for Mikel Arteta, the club have reacted in a proactive manner.
Kai Havertz’s knee injury timeline now revealed
That being said, the Independent have now lifted the lid somewhat on Havertz’s injury.
When news of Havertz’s knee issue broke, it wasn’t entirely clear how long the Arsenal striker would be out for, and given that the Gunners were taking to the transfer market as a result, fans would be forgiven for fearing the worst.
However, it’s now being reported that there’s hope at Arsenal that Havertz won’t be out for that long – there doesn’t seem to be any fears that the German’s whole season is under threat for example.
In fact, the report says that Havertz could be out for ‘maybe less than three months.’
Kai Havertz during an Arsenal training session.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
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Of course, the club and the Arsenal fans will not be happy that Havertz is missing for any period, particularly given how strong he’s looked in pre-season.
Havertz returned for pre-season looking much stronger – he had obviously spent a lot of the summer in the gym, working on his physique.
Viktor Gyokeres will now get his chance to prove his worth at Arsenal
With Havertz now out for a period, it has to be imagined that Viktor Gyokeres will start almost every game for Arsenal up top, providing that he stays fit.
Gyokeres endured a tough debut for Arsenal against Manchester United, but that was mostly because he didn’t receive any service up top.
But perhaps Arsenal’s move to sign Eze from Crystal Palace could really help in that regard.
It remains to be seen where Arteta will decide to play Eze first and foremost, perhaps he will start in a left-wing role at the expense of Gabriel Martinelli at times.
But the England international is also able to play as an eight and as a ten, and that explains why Arsenal are making such a clever signing.
Eze is an Arsenal fan, and although everyone at the club will be gutted for Havertz in terms of his injury setback, Andrea Berta and his team have reacted to the news with real purpose.