Eberechi Eze makes Eden Hazard claim amid Arsenal transfer fee statement

Arsenal star Eberechi Eze has discussed his transfer switch to Arsenal and how he modelled his game around former Chelsea star Eden Hazard while he was growing up as a young footballer.

Eberechi Eze was caught in the middle of one of the biggest transfer sagas of the 2025 summer transfer window, as he faced a choice between joining Arsenal and Tottenham. While the Gunners had made early enquiries about a move, it seemed as though Spurs were going to be the ones to land the England international.

Then came a late twist of fate, as Arsenal hijacked Tottenham's move for Eze, bringing the playmaker back to his boyhood club in a heart-warming story. It seemed as though everything the 27-year-old worked towards led to that switch, having faced rejection at the academy level, before forging a path at Wycombe, QPR, and then Crystal Palace.

Now, he aims to bring all that experience together to help the Gunners win the biggest prizes once again. Eze is the kind of player who gets fans off their seats, so it's no surprise that he idolised a player who did the exact same thing during his playing days.

The Arsenal star revealed on the Beast Mode On podcast with Adebayo Akinfenwa that he looked up to former Chelsea ace Eden Hazard when growing up. He said: "From 16, 17 [years old], not really model my game, but Eden Hazard was just like my favourite player to watch.

"I had Dinho [Ronaldinho], Neymar, Messi, all these guys. But yeah, Eden Hazard man."

Akinfenwa then pressed him on why he chose Hazard, to which Eze said: "Freedom man. Freedom. Freedom. He done what he thought was the right thing in that moment. He's not thinking, he's just expressing himself, and that's something you can tell he enjoys.

"He enjoyed being effective as a player, but also his style of play in football. So for me, that's my guy."

That same freedom is what has made Eze one of the standout players in the Premier League, with his ability to unlock defences coming from the spaces he takes up. That came as a slight concern when he made the move to Arsenal, with some fans questioning whether Mikel Arteta could restrict him too much.

So far, though, that hasn't been the case, whether it's on the left wing or as the No.10 in the absence of Martin Odegaard. That's even with the pressure of a £67.5m fee for Eze, something the forward claims doesn't personally cause him too much concern.

When asked about the fee, Eze said: "Pressure, for me? No. If I said what was in my head there, finished [laughs]. Pressure no, because I just think that's how my belief system is set up. I don't know if I can give everything on this [topic]."

"I don't feel the pressure because of what I believe," he continued. "And the faith that I have, I feel like I've been put in a position because a club like Arsenal deemed it worthy. They paid that money because you're worth that money.

"Even putting it into numbers is hard because my belief system is set up on a different thing, but I see it as an opportunity, man. It's an opportunity to go and play, do my stuff, be the player that I know I can be and then you can tell me if I was worth the money or not."

After scoring his first Premier League goal for Arsenal just before the international break, Eze will now be looking to pick up some fine form heading into a busy set of fixtures coming up.