Ferdinand picks out Arsenal star who Arteta will be ‘thanking God’ he signed

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand reckons Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be “thanking God” that he signed Eberechi Eze over the summer.

The Gunners have made a great start to the new season with Arteta’s side winning five, drawing one and losing one of their seven Premier League matches.

Their 2-0 win over West Ham at the weekend saw Arsenal climb above Liverpool into first position as the Gunners look to win their first Premier League title since 2004.

Arsenal invested heavily in the summer with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Cristhian Mosquera, Eze and Piero Hincapie all moving to the Emirates Stadium.

They now have the strength and depth to compete with Eze likely to fill in for Martin Odegaard after the Arsenal captain picked up an injury against the Hammers.

And Ferdinand reckons Arteta will “thank God” that he signed Eze as he is a perfect replacement for the Norway international.

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The Man Utd legend said on his own YouTube channel “I think Mikel Arteta is sitting there saying, ‘Thank God we went and got [Eberechi] Eze. Thank God that the board backed me and I’ve got a ready made replacement in Eze’.

“Because I don’t think he’s the type who would have put [Ethan] Nwaneri or [Max] Dowman into that position.

“I think he could play both of them [Eze and Odegaard] at times. But it’s a great problem to have.”

Ferdinand thinks Arsenal now have an “intimidating squad” that can go on and finally win the Premier League after three years in a row of finishing as runners-up.

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He added: “Arsenal have got probably the best depth in the league right now, all positions have really good cover. When all the squad’s fit, I think it’s an intimidating squad that you’re coming up against now.

“They’ve got robust players, players that can hurt you from different areas. It’s a good time to be an Arsenal fan.

“They’ve got to finish it off this time, they can’t go this season with having arguably the best squad in the league and still not get the job done.”

Arsenal released a statement on Sunday confirming that Odegaard had suffered ‘a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee’.

The statement read: ‘Martin Odegaard has been withdrawn from the Norway national team for their upcoming matches against Israel and New Zealand after sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee during the first half in Saturday’s win over West Ham United.

‘Martin will continue to be assessed and treated by our medical team at Sobha Realty Training Centre during the international window, with the aim of a return to action as soon as possible.’