Arsenal look to hijack Tottenham's pursuit of Eberechi Eze - sources

Arsenal are attempting to hijack Tottenham's pursuit of Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze and believe they could beat their north London rivals to his signing, sources have told ESPN.

On a dramatic day of activity, Spurs were on Wednesday morning confident of finalising a deal after reaching an agreement with Palace -- and personal terms with Eze -- on a transfer worth in the region of £60 million ($81m).

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However, Arsenal decided to enter the running later in the day amid fears Kai Havertz could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury.

Sources said that Arsenal had, to that point, not followed up their initial interest for two reasons: Firstly, it was in part contingent on Ethan Nwaneri potentially leaving the club -- the teenager has recently signed a new five-year deal -- while the club were prioritising outgoings before pondering a deal for Eze having committed almost £200m on signings in this window.

However, Havertz missed an open training session at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday with sources later confirming the club are waiting on the results of further tests before determining the full extent of the problem.

Early indications would suggest Havertz is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines as Arsenal have opted to re-enter the market and accelerate negotiations with Eze.

The opportunity for Arsenal to act was also in part created by Palace's reluctance to let Eze leave before Thursday's Conference League playoff, first leg against Fredrikstad.

Eze was willing to join Spurs but the 27-year-old, who has two years remaining on his current contract, is a boyhood Arsenal fan and was previously thought to be open to joining the Gunners when they originally made their interest known.

Spurs are set to move onto other targets if Eze confirms his preference to join Arsenal but it ranks as another disappointment in the market for Thomas Frank's side after they missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White, who at one stage was on the brink of joining the club before opting to sign a new contract to stay at Nottingham Forest.