This season, Martin Odegaard lives in a process of constant adaptation. First, he had to do it in the Real Madrid where, after six months, he failed to convince Zidane. Now, start from scratch in the Arsenal. In your first week you still haven't found your site. The Norwegian adds only 7 minutes in their first two games. They all played in the tie in the Emirates Stadium against him Manchester United (0-0). Last Tuesday, in the defeat against Wolverhampton (2-1), Mikel Arteta did not count on him.
You can understand that the Basque coach wanted to protect him. For the Gunners the game was complicated after the expulsion of Daviz Luiz just before the break, and it got even tougher with Bernd Leno's in the second half. He was forced to remove a striker (Lacazette) to get a central (Gabriel) and a midfielder (Thomas) to enter a goalkeeper (Rúnarsson). He only made an offensive change, betting on Aubameyang to look for attacks in speed. Pepé was the sacrificed.
The one that he kept during the 90's went to Smith rowe. The 20-year-old midfielder, one of the sensations of the Premier League this season, is being a fundamental piece for Arteta. He has played 72% of the minutes in the league and is the Odegaard's main rival for the position. At the moment, the English is imposed, although the coach's idea is to end up making a hole for the player on loan from Real Madrid.
Arsenal are facing a very intense month of February. After playing against Aston Villa Y LeedsHe will have four very tough games. He will play the two round of 32 matches of the Europe League against him Benfica. Between the two, he will receive the current leader, the Manchester City from Guardiola. Finally, the month will end with a visit to the always complicated Leicester, direct rival to enter Europe.
The next few days will be key to speed up Odegaard's adaptation. While you will need minutes of competition to get into the high rhythm of English football, you will first need to do it on your own team. Arteta wants to be patient, but, at the same time, he needs to get it in tune as soon as possible to fight for the goal: to play the Champions League next year.
Premier League
* Data updated as of February 3, 2021