Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown sees new Gunners loan signing Cedric Soares as a valuable squad addition, and a player who will be able to ease the pressure on Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Cedric has joined the Gunners on loan from Southampton until the end of the season on transfer deadline day, and will make his switch permanent on a free transfer at the end of the campaign if he impresses.
The 28-year-old brings Premier League experience having been at the Saints for four-and-a-half years, joining the club from Sporting Lisbon for around £4.7million in the summer of 2015.
Cedric also spent the second half of last season on loan at Inter Milan, and Keown thinks he'll be a good addition and will fulfil a valuable role within Mikel Arteta's squad.
"I think he’s a good player. [Yan] Valery has come in, the youngster, there at Southampton," Keown told talkSPORT, via Metro Sport.
"They look as though they are out of trouble so they want to make something happen.
"You have got [Hector] Bellerin, who is just coming to form, so he might not play long-term – and [Ainsley] Maitland-Niles – but I do feel he’s a good player.
"He’s a current holder with Portugal of the Euros and I think he has got enough to offer with Arsenal.
"It doesn’t block Bellerin’s path because he will know long-term, both Maitland-Niles and himself are the future.
"But they have had injury issues in that area and [Cedric] is that sort of player, he plays very well out from the back, and it might be something [Arteta] is looking at – competition for places.
"I think that’s a good addition."
