Arsenal hijack Tottenham’s ‘target’

It seemed like a matter of time before Eberechi Age left Newcastle United and joined Tottenham Hotspur. But suddenly Chelsea appeared on the scene. The Gunners are hijacking the ‘target’ of their north London rivals and bringing them to the Emirates Stadium. Eberechi Age once started his football career at Arsenal’s academy, but the Gunners released him at the age of 13 because he was not considered talented enough. However, this attacking midfielder has not been lost. After 14 years, his boyhood club is spending a huge amount of money to bring him to the team. Last season, AJ brought Crystal Palace the FA Cup title, which is the club’s first major trophy. After scoring against Aston Villa in the semi-final, the only winning goal against Manchester City in the final came from this midfielder’s feet. The 27-year-old was almost certain to embark on a new mission by winning the Glaziers’ title. Tottenham was considered Aj’s potential new club. According to British media reports, the 27-year-old had agreed to move to the north London club, and his club Crystal Palace was also willing. All that was left was to sign the contract. At that time, Arsenal appeared on the scene. Kai Havertz was injured, so the Gunners quickly reached out to their former academy student. Aj has dreamed of playing for this club all his life. He agreed when two for two for four. All that was left was Crystal Palace’s consent. According to BBC news, that too has been agreed. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano said that the FA Cup winners have agreed to sell AJ to Arsenal for a package of 60 million pounds (approximately 702 crore rupees). If the contract is signed, AJ will be wearing the Arsenal jersey after 14 years. Through this, his dream is also going to be fulfilled. In an interview in 2022, this Nigerian-born Englishman said that it was his dream to play for Arsenal. He said, ‘They let me go, which was hard to accept. When I was 13, I heard ‘no’ from their mouths, which was very difficult. I think when I was training after I was let go, I couldn’t concentrate, I just kept crying. But I think that experience helped me a lot with all the subsequent rejections. I thought, if I can handle the pain of being let go by Arsenal, then I can do anything else in life.’ AJ scored 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 matches for Crystal Palace last season.