Revealed: How Tottenham helped Arsenal secure Piero Hincapie transfer

Piero Hincapie arrive to Arsenal on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

The North London rivalry has been in the news quite a bit this season, and that could well be down to the 4-1 thumping that the Lilywhites have been on the receiving end of not once but twice in the 2025/26 campaign. But while that was quite a show of domination (and humiliation) on the pitch, the Gunners did the same off the pitch (at least that is what the latest reports indicate).

Recently, the ever-reliable transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the Ecuador international Piero Hincapie will become Arsenal’s first signing of the upcoming 2026 summer transfer window. He revealed how the transfer had already reached its conclusion behind the scenes.

But he also went on to reveal how Tottenham Hotspur are indirectly responsible for helping their city rivals sign Piero Hincapie.

Arsenal backed to make Piero Hincapie transfer permanent

Arsenal brought Hincapie to English shores from Bayer Leverkusen in what was an initial loan transfer with a buy option clause which was believed to be worth €52 million. And Romano insists that Mikel Arteta & Co were always intending to trigger that option at the end of the season.

He spoke about how the structure of this transfer is very similar to how Arsenal approached bringing David Raya to the Emirates Stadium from Brentford. He went on to explain how the paperwork between Arsenal and Hincapie is already done and how it includes a five-year contract for the defender.

Bayer Leverkusen will get that €52 million fee as part of the agreement, alongside which they have also managed to push the Gunners into a 10 per cent sell-on clause.

Tottenham’s presence pushed Arsenal into signing Piero Hincapie

Interestingly, though, it was Tottenham’s involvement that played a key part in pushing Arsenal to quickly move to sign the Ecuadorian.

He spoke about how Tottenham were all prepared to bring Hincapie to Hotspur Way in the last summer window, with the Lilywhites open to sanctioning a transfer for him, but Arsenal managed to beat Spurs to the deal by offering Leverkusen a structured agreement which guaranteed a permanent transfer (and that is what ended up tipping the German giants to accept the proposal on the table).

Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, said:

“One of the crucial points in this negotiation also for Arsenal to anticipate Tottenham in August 2025 when Arsenal decided to go for Piero Hincapie was to guarantee a permanent transfer.

“Otherwise, Tottenham were prepared to pay and get the player immediately. Arsenal guaranteed a permanent transfer.

Author Opinion

While many thought it was only Eze that the Gunners shouldered Tottenham into signing last summer, now it looks like they made two signings from under the Lilywhites’ nose, and both of them are defining their season in many ways.