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Arsenal look set to beat bitter rivals Tottenham to the signing of Eberechi Eze after making a stunning late move for the Crystal Palace star, according to a report. 

Eze had seemingly been on the brink of joining Spurs, who considered offering Richarlison as part of the deal.

Daily Mail Sport revealed that Spurs are exploring a part-exchange involving Richarlison plus cash for Eze.

In a stunning development, Arsenal have now formally come to the table with a £60million offer and the 27-year-old has told the Gunners he wants to join them, according to The Athletic.

The publication reports Arsenal are willing to meet the conditions of a deal for Eze and could now snatch the highly-rated midfielder from under the noses of their fiercest of rivals. 

Arsenal have returned to the market for a forward player after Kai Havertz suffered a knee injury.

And it now appears they are on the verge of pulling off one of the deals of the summer, just as it looked as though Eze was heading to the other half of north London. 

Arsenal had retained an interest in Eze despite Spurs being in pole position to land one of the most in-demand Premier League players of this transfer window.

Spurs will pursue other targets should they lose out on Eze, with Yoane Wissa high on their list.

The Brentford star, however, has his heart set on a move to Newcastle, whose improved offer of £35m plus £5m in add-ons was rejected on Wednesday. 

Eze, a boyhood Arsenal fan, started both the Community Shield win over Liverpool and the 0-0 draw at Chelsea on Sunday despite uncertainty surrounding his Palace future.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner said on Wednesday Eze and Marc Guehi, who is wanted by Liverpool, would both play in their Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park on Thursday.

‘Many of you were surprised they started against Chelsea,’ Glasner said. 

‘You may be surprised they will start tomorrow because of all the rumours.

‘But they are committed to the team, they have a contract here and want to play a crucial part in our success. 

‘They will play a crucial part for as long as they are here. If they leave, they want to leave as the guys who gave 100 per cent to Crystal Palace.

‘This is what they have done since they signed many years ago and this is what we expect from them until the end.’

Signing Eze would take Arsenal’s summer spending beyond £200m, following the arrival of the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke.