Arsenal are in the process of falling behind in the title race in the Premier League. The last three league games still have two losses and one draw, and after ten rounds there are now seven points up on league leaders Liverpool. – Made things work Former Arsenal hero Martin Keown is critical of what the old club delivers on a daily basis. After the loss against Newcastle at the weekend, Keown goes out and believes that it is quite obvious that Arsenal are missing their playmaker. – Right now, Ødegaard is the key. He made things work, to tick. Without him on the team, they can’t find those “pockets”, says Keown to TNT Sports. – Ødegaard is the key player for Arsenal. All the talk has been about the centre-backs, but he is the player they are missing, says fellow expert and former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock. Since the start of the Premier League last season, the statistics with and without Ødegaard are striking: news expert Kristoffer Løkberg believes the numbers speak for themselves: – It only confirms the impression one already had about how important Ødegaard is to Arsenal, says Løkberg. – The most impressive Martin Ødegaard has not been on the field for Arsenal for over two months, against Brighton on 31 August. – The most impressive thing about Martin Ødegaard is actually his influence on the team. His individual qualities are visible to everyone, but the way his qualities, both offensively and defensively, make everyone around him better, makes him one of the best footballers in the world, Løkberg believes. The Norwegian injured his ankle when he pulled badly in Norway’s national league meeting with Austria at the Ullevaal stadium a month and a half ago. CBS Sport correspondent James Benge said it dryly on X after the loss against Newcastle at the weekend, where Arsenal struggled to find rhythm offensively: “Show me that you miss Martin Ødegaard without saying that you miss Martin Ødegaard”. Photo: Screen dump X 03.11.2024 – It is a very good picture that they are missing someone who makes the decisive passes in which the matches are decided, Løkberg thinks of the graph from Opta, which shows Arsenal’s passes in the second half against Newcastle. Also during the loss against Newcastle, the absence of the Norwegian became a topic. It was easy to see that the red shirts lacked Ødegaard’s creativity and ball security. And as the graph above shows: There will quickly be far too much across and backwards in the lane without Ødegaard to lean on. The CBS correspondent has a point. Last season, Ødegaard was the player in Europe’s seven best-ranked leagues who had the highest number of successful passes into the opponent’s penalty area. – That is what I want to do. I want to create things, play forward and set up situations inside the box. It’s been my game all my life, so it’s cool to see that you’re up there, even at the highest level, Ødegaard himself told news about the speech. Now those qualities are in short supply in an increasingly awkward Arsenal team. – This Arsenal team does not function in the same way without Martin Ødegaard. The Norwegian is so missed, said Viaplay’s Kasper Wikestad. – Yes, we miss Ødegaard Even though there is a long time left in the season, the alarm bells have started ringing at the Emirates. The supporters sorely miss the team taking the final step and lifting the Premier League trophy after 38 games. Former Arsenal scorer Ian Wright is worried. – Yes, we miss Ødegaard, our main man when it comes to creating chances. But that we are not able to find a solution to it… he says disappointedly. – If I’m going to be completely honest, it’s the manager who has to properly think through what’s happening with this squad right now, with the boys and the results, he adds. Keown: – Good news for Arsenal Arsenal’s next match will already be played on Wednesday, when Inter await away in the Champions League. The former great player Keown reveals that he has received a signal that the Norwegian will soon be back. – I am told that he will be back on Wednesday, and that is good news for Arsenal, he says. Manager Mikel Arteta was asked at the weekend whether Ødegaard can make it to the Inter game. He has previously said that Ødegaard has been training on grass for several weeks already. – Now he is there to start training a bit with the rest. Let’s see if the pain is not too bad and if he is physically able to compete. With the work he has put in, I would be surprised if he is not ready when he is back in full training with us, said Arteta. WAITING: Martin Ødegaard has not played football since he was injured for Norway in mid-September. Photo: Dylan Martinez / Reuters Ødegaard: – Has put in a lot of work Norway’s national team captain has not done any interviews during the injury period, but recently wrote in Arsenal’s match program that the ankle injury occasionally presents challenges. – Some days you feel very well, while on other days you experience a reaction. I still feel better, and it looks like I’m getting close (a comeback). I have put in a lot of work at the gym. Recently I moved on an “anti-gravity” treadmill, which helps to take the weight off. It was a good feeling to be able to run again, Ødegaard wrote at the end of October. It also remains to be seen whether Ødegaard will be ready for the upcoming international matches that conclude the national league game for Norway. Slovenia and Kazakhstan are Norway’s opponents on 14 and 17 November. Published 05.11.2024, at 05.35
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