Mikel Arteta has launched a late hijacking on the neighbors in North Londs of Arsenal to get a new attacking threat.
Last night the Gunners were in principle agreed to sign Ebereechi Eze from Crystal Palace and grab the English international from under the nose of Tottenham, which seemed to be about to be a deal.
Arsenal has shouted in recent seasons to attack creativity, and there is no doubt that Eze will add that in abundance – in the past term had had a hand in 16 Premier League goals.
Eze certainly solves that problem, but he does present another: where will he play?
With Bukayo Saka on the right and new £ 63.5 million striker Viktor Gyokeres signed as a dominant presence in the middle, the largest weakness of Arsenal seems to be the left wing.
Eze can play there, but is not his strongest position.
While he would play him in his preferred central role, Arteta would be forced to sacrifice one of his other big stars.
Here Sunsport breaks down three potential starting XIs that Arteta could use to fit Eze in his system …
Wing it
In terms of strengthening the current best XI of Arsenal, playing Eze on the left wing seems to be the most logical.
The 27-year-old is an upgrade to Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, there is no doubt about it.
While Arsenal fans were far from taking the £ 52 million signing of Chelsea's Noni Madueke this summer.
However, Eze started only three times last season at the left wing for Palace in the competition – not to register a target contribution in any of those competitions.
The positives to force him wide for Arteta would be that he could keep Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi in the starting setup and still get the creativity of Eze.
Although the tendency of Eze to drive centrally would combine well with the way in which the new frontman Viktor Gyokeres likes to make the left flank – making Arsenal's left side unpredictable and difficult to mark.
However, the lack of a naturally overlapping left back can be a problem for balance.
Central attention
Spending more than £ 60 million to a player to bring them into a position that is not their strong suit, seems a bit strange, while whisper from the Emirates has suggested all summer that Eze is seen as a central player.
However, placing him in the team in midfield would give Arteta a huge selection headache.
One of rice, Zubimendi or Odegaard should come from midfield to offer space for the creativity of Eze.
The falling of Odegaard would be a huge explanation, given the status of the Norwegian at Club Captain, while Declan Rice consistently has been one of the best midfielders of the Premier League since his arrival in North Londs.
As such, Arteta should be to drop his new arrival of £ 56 million in Zubimendi and bring rice back to a deeper role in midfield if he wants to continue to play his desired formation.
Which of those three stars that Arteta chooses to bench will certainly raise a few questions from fans.
Three for everyone
There is a way in which Arteta can get all its stars in one line -up, but it requires a huge shift in the playing style of the Gunners.
The Spaniard could take over a back three, so that Eze can play a more free role in a central position without rice, Odegaard or Zubimendi.
Instead, Arsenal would stand in line with Bukayo Saka and Madueke who played as wing backs on either side of a midfield duo by Rice and Zubimendi.
Odegaard and Eze would play as double no10s behind Gyokees in what would be a scary attacking starting XI.
The Gunners should shift to a Gung-Ho style that would almost certainly make them defensively vulnerable.
But with a rock sturdy back three from Riccardo Calafiori, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, Arteta may just have the right staff to deduct what a sensational change in his team would be.