Arsenal star sent warning after Eberechi Eze transfer - 'He might be a problem'

Jamie Redknapp believes that Martin Odegaard could soon be sweating over his place in the Arsenal team following the club's decision to pull the trigger on a £67.5million swoop for Eberechi Eze.

Eze, 27, finalised his move from Crystal Palace over the weekend and offers the Gunners further versatility alongside two other summer recruits in Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres. Adept at playing as an attacking midfielder or as a left attacker, Eze enjoyed a stellar 2024-25 campaign for Crystal Palace and was also courted by Tottenham in the weeks prior to his switch to the red half of north London.

The England star was unveiled on Saturday evening prior to Arsenal's impressive 5-0 win over Leeds and is expected to play a significant role moving forward under Mikel Arteta. And Redknapp reckons that Eze's arrival could become a 'problem' of sorts for Odegaard.

Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Liverpool midfielder said of Eze: "He’s a fantastic player, he’s played for his country.

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"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."

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Odegaard suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday's big win over Leeds and was withdrawn from the action early. However, Arsenal have received positive news over their captain and Bukayo Saka, who also sustained an injury later in the match.

The Timesreport that both players avoided serious injury and could be back in action sooner rather than later. It remains to be seen, though, if either Saka or Odegaard will be fit enough to feature next weekend when the Gunners travel to Anfield to face the reigning Premier League champions, Liverpool.

If either miss out then that could lead to Eze being handed an immediate debut after watching his new team-mates run riot at The Emirates this weekend.

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