Jamie Redknapp is excited to see what Eberechi Eze can bring to Arsenal and believes Martin Odegaard may be a little worried for his place despite his status as captain.
Eze was given an incredible reception as he was presented to the Emirates crowd ahead of Arsenal’s rampant 5-0 victory over Leeds in the club’s first home game of the Premier League season.
Tottenham had looked to have wrapped up an agreement for Eze before Arsenal hijacked Spurs’ deal at the 11th hour, with the England international joining for a fee of £67.5million to become the Gunners’ seventh signing of the summer.
Eze has put pen to paper on a four-year contract, with the option of a fifth year, and will take over the No.10 shirt, most recently worn by Emile Smith Rowe.
There remains some uncertainty as to where exactly Eze could slot into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI given the 27-year-old can operate on the left flank or more centrally as a traditional No.10 – which is where he played for Palace last term.
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Odegaard currently occupies that position at Arsenal and has made it his own across his four-and-a-half year stay in north London.
But on the back of a difficult campaign for Odegaard last season, Redknapp feels the Arsenal skipper could be fearing for his spot – and the Norwegian’s shoulder injury against Leeds may well open up an opportunity for Eze.
Looking ahead to Arsenal’s trip to champions Liverpool next weekend, Redknapp said in his post-match analysis: ‘It just shows you the importance of signing Eze because, right now, they need him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts at Anfield.
‘If you think about it, [Noni] Madueke will probably go back out onto the right.
‘Eze is going to be brilliant there and the No.10 shirt just feels right on him.
‘He played No.10 at Palace and it just feels like he deserves this. He did such a great job at Palace and this is now his big opportunity and he’s got unfinished business.’
According to Redknapp, Eze could pose a ‘problem’ and potentially take Odegaard’s place should he force his way in and hit the ground running in Arsenal’s colours.
‘He’s a fantastic player, he’s played for his country,’ the ex-Liverpool, Tottenham and England midfielder added.
‘He is going to flourish there and I would like to see him in the positions where he is able to make things happen.
‘I feel, right now, that the one player who would be under a little bit of pressure… and if I thought two years ago that I’d be saying this, I would have thought I was crazy… but I think the captain will be looking, thinking, “He might be a problem for me”, because if he gets in then it might be hard for Odegaard to take back his place.’
Redknapp thinks Eze’s arrival may also give Gabriel Martinelli extra motivation to begin performing at a higher level having been ‘too comfortable’.
‘He [Eze] can wide left or he can play inside, but we’ve shown clips there and the reason why we’ve shown them is because that [central] is where he’s at his best,’ he continued.
‘Martinelli won’t come in there and play in that area. I feel that if you asked Eze, he would want to play centrally, where he can make things happen.
‘Martinelli might need this. He’s been too comfortable and this might be a situation where he needs to up his game and Eze will certainly bring that because he’s got so much confidence.’
Redknapp’s Sky Sports colleague, Theo Walcott, is encouraged by Arsenal’s strength in depth this season and felt the Gunners played with greater ‘freedom’ when both Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were forced off.
‘Of course the injuries were disappointing, but there was more freedom because these are players that want to get into the starting lineup so they’re going to want to impress,’ the former Arsenal attacker said.
‘[Leandro] Trossard is probably looking at himself and thinking, “I probably need to do more now”, and then players like Martinelli who has never been tested in this domain at Arsenal.
‘He has all these players around him now and he’ll be thinking he’s going to have to reach a new level.
‘Suddenly, you start to get players wanting to do better. Of course they’re going to want to be competitive and be at Anfield so this is where Arteta will be disappointed but he’ll be grateful he’s got all these players to pick from.’
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