Arteta welcomes Eze but worried by ‘significant’ Saka injury and Ødegaard blow

Mikel Arteta said Eberechi Eze had called him on Wednesday as he considered whether to sign for Tottenham to check if there might still be a route to Arsenal for him.

“Yes, that shows you how much he wanted to come,” Arteta said, as he reflected on the final twist to a saga in which Arsenal acted on their longstanding interest in Eze to gazump Spurs. “It’s very difficult sometimes because you want to be very transparent and open with the players. They have to make decisions that are very important.”

Spurs had agreed a fee with Crystal Palace for Eze but Arsenal stole in to get him for £60m plus £7.5m in add-ons. They had held the upper hand over Spurs all summer in that Eze always preferred to go to them, having supported them as a kid and played for their academy between the ages of eight and 13. But Arteta suggested it was dramatic and “one of the fastest” transfers in the end.

Eze was presented to the Emirates Stadium crowd before Saturday’s 5-0 win over Leeds, which featured an assured debut from the 15-year-old midfielder Max Dowman, who came on as a 64th-minute substitute, but was marred by injuries to Martin Ødegaard (shoulder) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring).

“I think he [Eze] has the capacity to create these magic moments,” Arteta said. “He’s got that flair, that charisma that is very contagious. We know he can play as an attacking midfielder, right or left. He doesn’t care. He plays shifted off the left, as well. I’m sure we will find the right place for him.”

Saka’s injury appeared to be more serious than that of the captain and the timing is bad, with Arsenal going to Liverpool next Sunday. “For Bukayo to come off, for sure it looks like something that is significant,” Arteta said. “He felt something in his hamstring while he was sprinting. That’s never a good sign.

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“It’s not the same [hamstring] as the previous injury [Saka missed three months of last season with a hamstring injury]. But he’s had these injuries before. He knows exactly the feeling of that. So let’s wait. Martin felt something in his shoulder when he landed. We’ll have to scan him tomorrow and understand a bit better.”

Arteta watched Dowman win the penalty for the fifth goal, which was scored by Viktor Gyökeres, who had earlier made it 3-0 – his first goals for Arsenal. The defender Jurriën Timber also scored twice. Saka got the other one.

“Max has zero hesitation,” Arteta said. “He’s so convinced that he can go at 15 and deliver that, which I’ve never witnessed in my life. For us, it brings joy, it brings emotion and something else that makes our jobs so great.”

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