Boy is grown and he’s back to bring the title to North London!

No more excuses. Arsenal has built a squad capable of winning the title, and this season Mikel Arteta must deliver tangible success in the form of trophies if he wants to keep his job in North London. He has been given everything he asked for.

Arsenal’s summer spending on reinforcements has now climbed past 300 million euros after the London club confirmed the signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace. The Gunners paid their city rivals a fixed 69.25 milion euros, with an additional 8.6milion euros possible through bonuses.

The only player more expensive than Eze this summer was Martin Zubimendi, who joined from Real Sociedad for 70 milion euros. In a similar price bracket were Viktor Gyokeres (65.8 milion euros) and Noni Madueke (56 milion euros). And that’s without bonuses, which for Eze, Gyokeres, and Madueke exceed 20 milion ueors each—at least half of which are almost certain to be triggered. These are four major, high-cost signings…

Add to that the smaller deals for Cristian Mosquera, his namesake Nergora, and backup goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, and it’s clear this transfer window will cost the Gunners over 300 milion euros. At the same time, they have earned just 8 milion euros from sales, while keeping all of their key players.

Eze is the cherry on top of Arsenal’s spectacular transfer window. He had long been on the Gunners’ radar, but the exhausting saga surrounding Viktor Gyokeres was the top priority for most of the summer.

Only after his arrival was secured could Arsenal move on to the Eze operation. Kai Havertz’s injury only sped things up, pushing them to swoop in and snatch Eze right under the nose of bitter rivals Tottenham. Spurs were on the verge of sealing the deal, having reached agreements with both player and club, but Arsenal struck a painful blow.

For Palace, it didn’t matter which part of North London Eze ended up in, as long as the fee was close to his recently expired 70 milion euros release clause. The player himself chose Arsenal, believing they offered a stronger sporting project and a real chance at trophies.

Arteta now boasts a fearsome attacking line even without the injured Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. Up front is Gyokeres, with Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli, youngster Ethan Nwaneri, and Leandro Trossard—whom Arteta confirmed will stay despite speculation of a departure—surrounding him. It is expected that Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira will leave before the end of the window, perhaps both.

Eze actually began his football journey at Arsenal, but at age 13 was told he had no future at the club. He went on to Fulham, then Reading, then Millwall, before breaking into senior football with Queens Park Rangers.

There, he caught the eye and earned a 20 milion euros move to Crystal Palace, where he shone over the past five seasons and became an England international. Two seasons ago, he formed a lethal trio with Michael Olise (now at Bayern) and Jean-Philippe Mateta, while last season he was the team’s standout player, helping them cap their campaign with a historic FA Cup triumph.

Today, he has become the most expensive sale in Selhurst Park’s history—and the final piece in Arsenal’s mosaic.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2

Friday

West Ham - Chelsea 1-5 (1-3)

/Paqueta 6 - Pedro 15, Neto 23, Fernandez 34, Caicedo 54, Chalobah 58/

Saturday

Man.City - Tottenham 0-2 (0-2)

/Johnson 35, Palhinha 45+2/

Bournemouth - Wolverhampton 1-0 (1-0)

/Tavernier 4/

Brentford - Aston Villa 1-0 (1-0)

/Outtara 13/

Burnley - Sunderland 2-0 (0-0)

/Cullen 47, Anthony 88/

Arsenal - Leeds 5-0 (2-0)

/Timber 34, 56, Saka 45+1, Gyokeres 48, 90+5 pen/

Sunday

16.00: (2.40) Crystal Palace (3.40) Nott.Forest (3.20)

16.00: (3.35) Everton (3.40) Brighton (2.30)

18.30: (3.60) Fulham (3.50) Man.Utd. (2.15)

Monday

22.00: (3.40) Newcastle (3.50) Liverpool (2.10)

***odds are subject to change***