Good move in the first half between him and Saka. Quality players on the same page that Laca fluffed.
Really need the forward situation sorting to get the best out of them.
2 Likes
Who would’ve thought Odegaard was so good as an #8.
Me
Check above. I have receipts
1 Like
I was thinking about tagging you as we were perhaps the only ones banging on about Odegaard’s best position being as an 8.5 . But you often go missing nowadays(I think tou explained why before).
Proud of your boy finally finding his feet?
1 Like
9 Likes
Was excellent on Saturday. Don’t think he was playing as an 8 though. More like a 10 with a free role, as Ozil used to.
4 Likes
It was definitely as a right sided #8.
I get the #10 confusion. It’s essentially the way Pep uses his #8s, being more advanced almost like a playmaker but they still do all the work defensively.
It suits Martin to a tee.
I’m sure Mikel has pointed out Bernardo and David Silva as references to Martin.
Agreed, he’s played as an 8 before for us but it’s not when Xhaka and Partey are on the pitch together. I actually like him at 8 but as we saw in January it doesn’t hold water in a weak pivot.
While we’ve got Lacazette huffing and puffing and missing chances we need Odegaard as close to goal as possible, playing as a goal threat at CAM. As much as I dislike Xhaka it really looks like we need every piece of Partey Xhaka and Odegaard for this midfield to function. Still I think people underestimate the chemistry Odegaard and Partey have right now, if anything happens through the middle of the park it’s usually because Partey is looking to release Odegaard further up the pitch.
3 Likes
We’ve played both of our last 2 games with him and Xhaka as #8s, so there is a change in tactics.
Xhaka was certainly more advanced than usual that’s for sure but he never felt like he was as advanced as Odegaard who found himself in front of goal a few times- so I can appreciate why l people consider Odegaard as more of a CAM than pure 8 in this game. That map shows he’s essentially the 3rd closest attacking midfielder to goal.
Xhaka being up the pitch is fine in games like this where we can control possession but against a good team we’ll get absolutely wrecked should he be consistently that far up the pitch. Doesn’t have the mobility to come back on threats.
3 Likes
A lot of people think it will be Tierney who gets the captaincy but I think it’s guaranteed to be Ødegaard
1 Like
Hasn’t he captained the Norwegian team for several years now?
right decision
Odegaard being the captain of Norway is akin to Ramsey being captain of Wales. It’s down to being the best player in the team, rather than the right fit for the role. It just doesn’t seem like his personality to be a leader.
While Odegaard has added consistency to his game in the last few months, I still think he will have plenty of games where he is invisible like Ozil.
If Gabriel & White continue to dominate the field as they have been, I don’t see why Odegaard should be ahead of them. They look like far better choices from both consistency & personality wise.
As for Tierney, he could have been our Lahm but he is either unavailable or inconsistent to have that band on permanent basis.
This is a team with Haaland in it btw so not necessarily. I think he seems to show a decent amount of fire on the pitch. He just looks boyish.
1 Like
There is no way any sane manager will make Haaland his captain at this stage.
You do realise that Haaland and Gareth Bale play for those countries don’t you haha?
Edit: @Hass got there first
2 Likes
Gareth Bale burst into scene after Ramsey was made captain and then later dropped.
It was always a poor choice by Gary Speed to begin with.
10 Likes
There seems to have been increasing buzz lately regarding him getting the long term captaincy.