Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand has shared his one concern about Arsenal signing Martin Odegaard on loan.
It looks as though the Norwegian midfielder is set to sign for the Gunners, and while Ferdinand thinks that he’ll be a good signing, he’s worried that he could take Emile Smith Rowe’s place in the first-team.
Smith Rowe has been the standout player at Arsenal in recent weeks, earning all sorts of praise from pundits, and Ferdinand doesn’t want his role to be affected by the arrival of Odegaard.
“That’s the only thing that worries me, if he (Odegaard) comes in and takes someone like Emile Smith Rowe’s position I’d be devastated,” Ferdinand said.
“He’s come in and done unreal things, the way he has played, he’s been a breath of fresh air at Arsenal and I’m sure if fans were there at the stadium they’d be going crazy about him.
“He brings assists and he brings calmness to the way you guys play, he’s the type of player who could have played over a number of generation at Arsenal in the way that he plays football, so I hope he doesn’t come and stunt his growth within the team because he’s been really good in the past few weeks.”
Ferdinand is spot on.
It would be so harsh if Mikel Arteta dropped Smith Rowe for Odegaard after he’s played so well, and to be honest, it would send out completely the wrong message to any young player trying to break through at Arsenal.
Of course, we don’t know what Arteta will do with Odegaard, and what position he will play in, but we can only hope that it doesn’t affect Smith Rowe, because he’s proving to be one of Arsenal’s most important players.
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