Eberechi Eze brutally booted out of Crystal Palace WhatsApp chat as Arsenal star prepares to face former team
EBERECHI EZE will have to send a message to his old team-mates on the pitch… after being kicked out of the Crystal Palace WhatsApp group chat.
The attacker, 27, joined Arsenal in a £68million deal in the summer after helping the Eagles to two memorable Wembley triumphs.
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Eberechi Eze faces Crystal Palace for the first time since joining Arsenal – and is out of the WhatsApp groupCredit: Alamy
Eze scored the winner in May’s FA Cup final at WembleyCredit: Getty
Eze scored the winner in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, securing Palace’s first-ever major trophy, then featured in the Community Shield success despite speculation over his future.
He did, though, get his dream move to his beloved Gunners, picking up a goal and three assists in ten appearances so far.
And as the popular England star prepares to face Palace for the first time since his departure and looks for his first Arsenal league strike, there are no hard feelings from his former team-mates who are still in touch with Eze – even if they did mercilessly boot him out of the group.
Speaking about his old pal’s exit from the chat group, Will Hughes, 30, joked: “It wasn’t me.
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“Eze’s been brilliant. I don’t watch much football but from what I’ve seen, he’s done really well.
“I’m really happy for him. Hopefully, we keep him quiet on Sunday.
“Arsenal’s always a tough game and it will be again.
“They’re showing their class this season.
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“But we know that when we’re at it 100 per cent we can take on any team. We’ve got to look forward to it and it’s a big opportunity for us to bounce back from losing to Larnaca.”
Dean Henderson faced Eze plenty of times in training with club and country.
But tomorrow he goes up against him for real for the fifth time, and first since March 2021.
The goalkeeper is undefeated against his good pal for Sheffield United, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
Eze has one goal past Henderson, for QPR against the Blades in August 2018.
And Henderson, 28, is well aware Eze is just one of a number of threats he will face this afternoon.
Therefore, the shot-stopper – Palace’s other hero in the FA Cup final with his penalty save – is taking inspiration from the approach to Wembley.
The three-cap No1, desperate to respond after Thursday’s shock Conference League defeat to the Cypriot minnows, said: “It would be great if we went there and won, it would change everything.
“Obviously the reality is when you go to the Emirates, it’s a free hit.
“You’ve got to play with confidence, enjoy playing there and see what you can do, cause an upset.
“You just use it as a cup game, a one-off game. The pressure’s on them so we’ll go and do our best.
Dean Henderson vs Eberechi Eze
- 11/08/2018 – QPR 1-2 Sheff Utd (Eze scored)
- 12/01/2019 – Sheff Utd 1-0 QPR
- 03/03/2021 – C Palace 0-0 Man Utd
- 12/11/2022 – N Forest 1-0 C Palace
“We’ve delivered against teams like that before so why not do it again?
“Eze’s a top player, they all are at Arsenal. I’m delighted for him. It’ll be good to see him but it’s full focus on what we’re doing.”
There is no doubt Eze is indeed a top player.
But Oliver Glasner insists the stats prove Crystal Palace are a BETTER team WITHOUT their former talisman, who racked up 40 goals and 28 assists across 169 appearances in five years at Selhurst Park.
But after Eze swapped South London for North London, Glasner showed his side are coping just fine.
After eight games, Palace’s xG of 17.38 is the best in the Premier League.
The average of 2.17 xG per game, which shows the quality of chances produced, is also way up on their seventh-best 1.61 from across last season when Eze was in the team – and 16th-ranked 1.29 in 2023-24, when Glasner took over from Roy Hodgson in the February.
Asked how the team has changed with the arrival of £26m Spanish winger Yeremy Pino replacing Eze, the Austrian, 51, said: “It’s a difficult question. Eberechi was definitely a player who could decide games on his own with one situation.
“On the other side, it’s also a fact that Crystal Palace have the highest xG in the whole Premier League ahead of City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
“This is a credit to the whole team, not to individuals.
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“Of course, everybody who likes Palace would like to have Michael Olise and Ebs still in the squad. But it also shows we can create enough chances to score goals.
“We lost a fantastic player, and an even more fantastic person in Ebs. I’m looking forward to seeing him, but there will be no friendship during the game.”
Will Hughes refused to say who did the deed on WhatsAppCredit: Getty
Eze grabbed the famous goal at Wembley to etch his name in Eagles historyCredit: Getty
Dean Henderson is relishing facing his England team-mateCredit: Getty
Oliver Glasner reckons his team are better without Eze – and the stats back him upCredit: Getty
