Eberechi Eze will need to let his football do the talking this weekend. The 27-year-old forward, who swapped Crystal Palace for Arsenal in a £68million summer move, has been unceremoniously removed from his former club’s WhatsApp group chat.
The England international faces his old side for the first time since his departure, seeking his first Premier League goal in Arsenal colours after contributing one strike and three assists in his opening ten appearances.
Yet his ex-team-mates assure there is no animosity – even if they did, as midfielder Will Hughes cheerfully admitted, “boot him out of the group”.
“It wasn’t me,” Hughes laughed.
“Eze’s been brilliant. I don’t watch much football but from what I’ve seen, he’s done really well.
“I’m really happy for him. Hopefully, we keep him quiet on Sunday. Arsenal’s always a tough game and it will be again.
“They’re showing their class this season. But when we’re at it 100 per cent, we can take on any team. It’s a big opportunity for us to bounce back from losing to Larnaca.”
Eberechi Eze has impressed for Arsenal since joining from Crystal Palace
| PAEze’s journey from south London favourite to north London star was sealed after he inspired Palace to two famous Wembley victories – scoring the FA Cup final winner against Manchester City to deliver the club’s first major trophy, and helping lift the Community Shield weeks later amid speculation about his future.
Among those preparing to stop him on Sunday will be Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who knows Eze’s game as well as anyone.
The pair faced each other repeatedly in training with club and country. Henderson, unbeaten against Eze in competitive fixtures for Sheffield United, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, conceded once to him in August 2018 when Eze played for QPR.
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Arsenal will be hoping to continue their quest for Premier League title glory against Crystal Palace
| GBNEWS/GETTY/PANow, the 28-year-old is drawing on memories of their FA Cup triumph to inspire another upset at the Emirates.
“It would be great if we went there and won, it would change everything,” Henderson said.
“Obviously the reality is when you go to the Emirates, it’s a free hit. You’ve got to play with confidence, enjoy playing there and see what you can do, cause an upset.
“You just use it as a cup game, a one-off game. The pressure’s on them so we’ll go and do our best. We’ve delivered against teams like that before so why not do it again?
“Eze’s a top player, they all are at Arsenal. I’m delighted for him. It’ll be good to see him but it’s full focus on what we’re doing.”
Oliver Glasner, meanwhile, insists Palace are thriving without their former talisman.
Eberechi Eze scored the winning goal in Crystal Palace's FA Cup triumph earlier this year
| PAEze contributed 40 goals and 28 assists in 169 appearances, but the Austrian manager points to the statistics. Palace’s expected-goals tally of 17.38 is the highest in the Premier League, ahead of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
“It’s a difficult question,” Glasner said when asked how Eze’s departure changed his team.
“Eberechi was definitely a player who could decide games on his own.
“But Crystal Palace have the highest xG in the league. This is a credit to the whole team, not to individuals.
“Of course, everybody who likes Palace would like to have Michael Olise and Ebs still in the squad. But we can create enough chances to score goals.
“We lost a fantastic player, and an even more fantastic person in Ebs. I’m looking forward to seeing him, but there will be no friendship during the game.”