Reservations with Odegaard: “He has been given the luxury of playing there …”

The signing of Martin Odegaard is a constant source of feedback, both positive and negative, at Arsenal. Nobody doubts the quality of the Norwegian, but his positional coincidence with Emile Smith Rowe creates some controversy. Arteta, who is delighted with Martin, is trying to make them fit in, as could be seen in the clash against Benfica in the Europa League. The Gunners tied (1-1) thanks to a goal from Bukayo Saka, with Drammen occupying the position of ten and Smith Rowe moved to the left wing. The three young men made up the midfielder line behind Aubameyang.

Nevertheless, Martin Keown, a club legend, is not entirely clear that taking the baton from Smith Rowe is the most appropriate, because the canterano had been one of the most outstanding notes of the season. “A lot of the problems at Arsenal is finding that player who goes free. It's been Smith Rowe of late, but Odegaard has been given the luxury of playing there. (…). My reservations are that Smith Rowe has done particularly well in that position, “he told BT Sports.

In addition, the lack of minutes in Madrid is another source of concern for the former center: “We are still waiting for him. I think there is a good player there, but he has not played much for Real Madrid, maybe seven or eight games this season, he may be a little short on physique.”. Of course, he did not want to question his abilities: “If you don't give him the ball, you can't see what he's capable of, but there were times when he had the ball and hit good passes. He does it very well in front of goal, he's a player they want to test and build around themselves. “

Possible positional fit

Although Keown wanted to find an explanation for the lineup put into play by Arteta: “Now, Maybe (Arteta) didn't feel like he was getting enough juice out of Pépé defensively, which is why he has put Smith Rowe in that position. Now you have Saka and Smith Rowe open. They move really well, they go very well inwards, they give space for the sides to reach the bottom and they know when to press. They may lose a bit for now until Odegaard is ready to match them in speed, but there were flashes of good play. “

Finally, he left a positional reflection when analyzing a play in which Bellerín did not pass the ball to him and compared the Norwegian with Mesut Özil, already in the past history of the club: “Here he has a lot of space, does it have something to do with status? Because the team lost Özil, who was very good in that kind of position and would have asked for it. This player has to do something similar. In central position, if he receives the ball he can be very creative. You want me to catch the ball. I think that's why Arteta wants him there, but they must feed him. “