Martin Odegaard has made his long-awaited return to league action since the September international break. A knee injury had sidelined the Norwegian playmaker since September.
We felt his absence deeply, so his return was a significant boost. That being said, would we be higher in the table if we had Odegaard’s services during his absence?
As a Gooner, it must be challenging to feel optimistic about Arsenal’s title challenge when you glance at the Premier League table.
With 28 points, Liverpool leads the way, holding a 5-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City and a 9-point lead over Chelsea, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest, all tied at 19 points in third place.
Unless Arsenal manages to turn things around and embark on a significant winning streak, it will be increasingly difficult for them to narrow the gap between themselves and the Reds at the top of the table.
The absence of creativity in the final third has been Arsenal’s significant downfall, as was evident against Newcastle and subsequently against Inter Milan.
Watching Arsenal versus Chelsea, however, there was a noticeable difference; suddenly, Arsenal’s attack appeared vibrant; it was just a matter of missed opportunities.
Martin Odegaard’s influence was immediately apparent as he demonstrated his playmaking abilities with a remarkable assist. There’s no one else who can navigate the inside pockets quite like he does.
Although he didn’t lead the Gunners to victory, his outstanding performance conveyed his happiness at returning to the pitch. For weeks, there was a noticeable gap between the attack and midfield. Odegaard effectively connected the midfield to the attack, generating four significant chances, surpassing all other players on the pitch.
Martin Ødegaard's game by numbers vs. Chelsea [RANK]:
100% tackles won (2/2) [🥇]
91% pass accuracy
12/14 final 3rd passes completed [🥈]
4 chances created [🥇]
2 big chances created [🥇]
2 shots
1 assist [🥇]MOTM. 🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/JGqaG4AXoZ
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 10, 2024
Observing Odegaard’s remarkable performance at Stamford Bridge after a six-week absence, a Gooner can confidently declare that their season has officially begun.
So Arsenal would have been better off had Odegaard not been injured…
With that assist, the Arsenal skipper achieved his 8th Premier League assist from open play in 2024. In this run, only Cole Palmer (11) and Mo Salah (9) have assisted more in the Premier League.
What a boost it is to have Martin Odegaard back! What do you think?
Sam P
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That ball he floated into the back post for Martinelli’s goal was delightful – the kind of balls I had expected Saka to play in the several occasions he had the chance. But Saka would always prefer to create the chance to score himself even when heavily outnumbered by opposing defenders.
Let’s just hope that Odegaard stays fit for long now. We can ill afford to lose him anymore.
Havertz obviously couldn’t easily cut inside and make diagonal passes as Odegaard did, because of Havertz’s mediocre close control skills and high-center of gravity
Nwaneri was the best replacement for Odegaard, because Vieira was shipped out and Merino/ Zinchenko don’t seem to have high stamina to lead our high-press
Unfortunately, Arteta didn’t seem to trust Nwaneri and kept playing Trossard who has cost us seven points, despite Trossard’s productivity previously
Was just wondering if Saka would’ve have been able to reach his potential or even given a chance if it was Arteta and not Emery that was in charge in 2018.
Arteta surely is not a developmental coach. He’s more of a Mourinho type coach.
The similarities are coming to fore in the style of play also.
Arteta is under a heavy pressure to win a major trophy after a massive financial investment from Kroenke, hence the lack of opportunities for our youngsters
Emery had to use the youngsters, because he wasn’t really supported financially by Kroenke
@Gai you are spot on. Arteta seem very rigid on certain decision making so far this season which has cost Arsenal some points. I still wonder why he kept faith in Trossard in the absence of Odegard, what else would Nwaneri do to convince him. And against Chelsea he removed Matinelli the goal scorer for Trossard who’s sharpness has left him recently.
I hope Arteta’s rigidity and trust in certain players won’t cost him Epl trophy🤫
At the end of the season questions will be asked of his capacity to win Epl after 5 seasons. Realisticaly, Atsenal may have to settle for Top4 the level of competiion this season is tough and 9 points behind inform Liverpool is no joke.
The Narrative would have been so beautiful had Tossard converted his chance at the death,
The gaffer drop to Turf pounding the surface in disgust showing his passion, there is no doubt the young Spaniard wears his heart on his sleeves.
Yes, but I think it would have been ruled offside anyway.
Odegaard made all the difference when it came to linking the play and finding gaps in the lines. They did a great job of canceling out Saka, and we did one on Palmer. In isolation, this is a good result, this Chelsea team is brimming with talent and will only get better.
For all its worth:
none of the games since Ødegaard’s return ended with an Arsenal win.
What. All ONE of them lol. An away game against a top four side? Yeah I agree Odegaard is rubbish!