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By Emma Njoku
As the curtain falls on the 2025/26 English Premier League (EPL) season today, Eberechi Eze’s return to the Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace, will be laced with mixed emotions for the Nigerian born England international, Eberechi Eze and fans of Crystal Palace.
Call it a “triumphant return of the king to the Palace” and you won’t be wrong. Eze means ‘King’ in Igbo language, while a ‘Palace’ is associated with royalty, or simply the official residence of a king. Having already won the league before today’s final fixture, Arsenal will be accorded a ‘Guard of Honour’, as worthy champions, by their hosts, before the match kicks off. Fans of Crystal Palace would watch with envy as Eze and his Arsenal teammates relish the respect being accorded them by their hosts.
By every stretch of imagination, Eze qualifies to be addressed as a legend of Crystal Palace. Fans of the club will not forget how he gave them their first ever major trophy with the only goal of the 2025 English FA Cup final against Manchester City. He also helped Crystal Palace to win the 2025 Community Shield after defeating the EPL champions, Liverpool, another powerhouse in English and European football.
Thereafter, the golden opportunity to realise his long-awaited dream of joining his boyhood club, Arsenal, came knocking and Eze, who joined Crystal Palace for 17 million pounds, moved to the Emirates Stadium in a 67.5 million pounds deal.
His football career could be described as a paradox. Perhaps, his names are a reflection of his life. Eberechi literally translates to the “Mercy of God” in Igbo language, just as Eze means ‘King’. On August 23, 2025, the day of his unveiling at the Emirates Stadium, right before Arsenal’s EPL home fixture against Leeds United, the fans sang “Let it all work out”, a song made popular by American rapper and singer, Lil Wayne, in 2018. Gunners fans sang the song because it perfectly mirrors Eze’s fairy tale journey from being released by the Arsenal academy at age 13 to returning to the Emirates triumphantly a star player. The song, therefore, symbolises both Eze’s resilience and his lifelong dream to succeed at his boyhood club. Arsenal fans have fully embraced the song as an ode to his triumphant return, making it the perfect soundtrack to his Arsenal career.
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Yet on the same day of his unveiling, as Eze walked into the magnificent Emirates Stadium in utter pleasant disbelief and acknowledged cheers from a mammoth crowd, Arsenal legend, Ian Wright, said to him: “Do you want to write a legacy? Some things don’t need saying, but we say them anyway. Do you want to realise those dreams? Do you want Arsenal?”
Eze’s response was an emphatic affirmative –“Obviously. For the Mbaise, Imo State-born midfield maestro, it was a long-awaited dream come true.
Fast forward, Eze made his debut for Arsenal against Liverpool in a league match on August 31, 2025 when he came in as a substitute for Gabriel Martinelli in the 70th minute. Arsenal lost the match 1-0, no thanks to a screamer by Hungarian international, Dominik Szoboszlai. He started the game against Nottingham Forest and made an assist to Viktor Gyokores in the second goal of the game which ended 3-0 in favour of Arsenal. He also provided an assist in Arsenal’s next Premier League game against Manchester City at the Emirates which ended 1-1. Eze then scored in his next game against Port Vale, his first in the EFL (Carabao) Cup for Arsenal and the game ended 2-0 in favour of the Gunners. He went five games without a goal or assist in all competitions before scoring the only goal that gave Arsenal victory against his former club, Crystal Palace, at the Emirates. Eze endured another goal drought in four games before his famous hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspurs in the league game that ended 4-1 at the Emirates. After the heroics, he fired blanks in his next 18 games in all competitions, a development that culminated in a bench role for him while the “let it all work out” soundtrack resonated from the fans each time he was on the pitch. He worked hard to regain his form and fought his way back into the starting lineup. Interestingly, he ended his long goal drought with a brace against the same Tottenham Hotspur in the reverse league fixture that ended 4-1. Tottenham fans will never forgive Eze who was almost on the verge of joining the Spurs when Arsenal pulled the rug off their feet and hijacked the midfielder.
A devout Christian, Eze credits his deep faith and his mother’s prayers for guiding his resilient journey in professional football. He views his football career as a platform to glorify God and stay anchored through the intense highs and lows of the game.
When he was released by Arsenal at age 13, his mother prayed with him and encouraged his faith. He credits this foundation with giving him the strength to overcome setbacks and pursue his dream. At Arsenal, Eze is part of a prominent group of Christian players nicknamed the “Bible Brothers”. In this group includes Jurrien Timber and his Nigerian compatriots, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke. They read the Bible and pray together to maintain team unity and spiritual grounding.
Eze is known for frequently making the sign of the cross and pointing toward the sky after scoring goals.
For Arsenal and Crystal Palace, today’s final league fixture is a mere formality as the outcome will not really matter to either side. Both teams are focused on their crucial final matches in UEFA club competitions. While Arsenal are in the final of the Champions League, Palace are in the final of the Confrence Cup and both teams want to make history by winning the respective trophies for the first time.
Eze may not score in every game, but he knows how to come good in high stake matches. Call him a clutch player and you would be dead right because he sure knows how to score crucial goals when the chips are down. He may well become the hero for Arsenal on May 30 when the Gunners face the defending champions, PSG, in the final of the UEFA Champions League final in Budapest, Hungary.
