Martin Keown says he wanted Tottenham star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Arsenal

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Arsenal legend Martin Keown has claimed that he really wanted Tottenham Hotspur star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the Emirates.

The Dane joined Spurs from Southampton for £15 million back in the summer of 2020 (Sky Sports). He has been incredible for them since, which is probably why Keown wishes Hojbjerg was a Gunner now.

Martin Keown says he wanted Tottenham star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Arsenal

Hojbjerg was heavily linked with both Arsenal and Tottenham back in the summer of 2020. Both clubs were keen on a new midfielder back then, but it was Jose Mourinho’s side who won the race to sign him.

The Athletic revealed later that year that senior figures at Arsenal wanted to sign Hojbjerg, but Spurs beat their fierce North London rivals in the race and secured his signature for a bargain fee.

Arsenal went and signed Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid in the end, and every Gunners fan was delighted – except probably Keown, who really wanted Hojbjerg at the Emirates.

The Gunners legend said today on BBC Match Of The Day: “Everything’s out there on social media, he’s a player I wanted at Arsenal because I like his style, I like what he brings.

“He’s a part of a very workman-like team. When you’re watching Spurs, it’s not a fantastic watch and they grind out results, but he’s very much a part of what they do, that hard work in that team.

“You can see that his game is now back to the level it was when he was a young man in that Bayern Munich team.”

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Partey and Hojbjerg have both been excellent for their respective clubs over the last two years, but if you had to pick one, you’d probably lean towards the Spurs man – only because the Arsenal star has spent a lot of time out injured.

Since joining Tottenham, Hojbjerg has played 117 times for them in all competitions. Partey, on the other hand, has played just 70 times for the Gunners, with fitness issues ruling him out for a total of 38 games (Transfermarkt).

Both Partey and Hojbjerg are fit now and have been brilliant so far this season. The Ghanaian even scored against Spurs in the North London Derby earlier this month – a moment he will remember for a long, long time.

When both players call it a day in the future, it will be very interesting to see who turned out to be the better signing – Hojbjerg for Tottenham or Partey for Arsenal. As things stand, it probably is the Dane.