Martin Keown is one of the ex-Arsenal players who didn’t see the need for the Gunners to sign Martin Odegaard, but he may have changed his mind now.
The club legend previously criticised Mikel Arteta for wanting to buy the Norwegian when the club had Emile Smith Rowe.
“I think Smith Rowe is a better player in that position. But if the manager feels this Odegaard can bring something extra to the group then time will tell again,” he said previously as quoted by Mirror Football.
“I don’t think though that he’s a world-class player but I do think he’s a promising player.
“I would’ve thought that’s where the money should have been spent, big money in that central midfield position.”
Arteta was clear about why he wanted the former Real Madrid midfielder and has finally signed him.
Odegaard hasn’t been in poor form since he joined the club and may have changed the opinion of Keown.
The former Gunners supported the midfielder’s claim of the Arsenal dressing room being “nice” recently and goes on to say that the Norwegian is in a better place at the Emirates.
Keown told BBC via the same Mirror report that Odegaard has had “a good start.”
He then adds: “Martin Odegaard is just starting out in his career. He hardly played for Real Madrid. I do feel the environment needed to improve at Arsenal when you think about what was happening with [Mesut] Ozil, a lot of power there and not the greatest of role models.
“Odegaard is in a dressing room now where he feels he’s got the right environment to work in and I think that’s good as well.”
Arteta has figured out how to play both Odegaard and Smith Rowe in the same lineup and both players have looked at home at the Emirates.
Their midfield partnership will hopefully blossom and lead Arsenal to win trophies in the near future.