Dude was only average when he came on, but he still had a better performance than Eze in this one.
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This might be controversial but assuming Ode stays fit, if he has another season like last, I think his position in this team should come under scrutiny. 22/23 was his best season. Since then, his numbers have been dropping. We have a great squad, but if we are to win this league, our big players have to make a difference.
Martin, if he stays fit, has to start producing his best football and impact the game. I am hoping that happens in the second half of the season.
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Between Eze, Merino and Nwaneri, I’d quite like to move to a team without Odegaard. The first two have defining, match winning moments and have been here less time than Odegaard.
Genuinely feel like the team has moved on ala Zinchenko and Jesus. Odegaard is still very talented though.
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Sell Odegaard bring Rashford iinit
I’m really looking forward to seeing what this team can look like when we have a Zubi, Rice, Odegaard midfield for a run of games. We haven’t really seen it yet, but its clearly the vision that Arteta has had for a long time and I think he’s earned enough trust that we should be excited about seeing what that vision looks like in practice.
Eze does offer more final third contribution than Odegaard but I suspect we might be able to unlock a whole new level of domination, fluidity, and control with that midfield. Like PSG’s midfield but with more running power and physicality.
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Odegaard skill set should be used to play deeper now.
He can be used to give Rice or Zubimendi a rest.
Something like:
Eze Odegaard Rice or Eze Zubimendi Odegaard as a 3 could be really sexy
Odegaard isn’t physical enough and his output is poor. He’s brilliant at leading a press and getting on the ball in deep areas. Zubi can do the ball playing now and Eze and Merino are far bigger goal threats.
Still our first choice ahead of Eze for me. I like what the latter brings to the team but I can’t wait to see him how he links up with Rice and Zubimendi.
His off the ball work is invaluable too and he tends to show for the ball a lot.
I do like Eze but he doesn’t have the consistency right now to displace Odegaard in that spot in my eyes. I’m aware Odegaard form hasn’t been great either but hopefully all the injury worries can be behind him now.
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The fact that we have both Eze and Odegaard is a huge positive and testament to the squad building Mikel and now Berta has done.
I too feel like it’s time to move on from the class of 21-23 for he majority of that group bar Gabriel and Saliba.
That said I do feel like Odegaard can still offer us something, but it’s really now or never tbh, we need his creativity back to 100% again, passing and shooting especially otherwise we should look at replacing next summer if there’s no sign of significant improvement.
We’re no longer a ‘top 4 side trying to win a trophy’, instead we’re now aiming to compete with the very best in Europe.
Long may it continue.
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Think that’s the third like I’ve given you this week. Fair play.
It seems I’ll be going against the grain by saying how important Odegaard is to our project. He’s a unique blend of passing, vision, work rate and tactical IQ. And at his best, he can twat the ball nicely too.
He was finding top form right before his injury which is such a shame.
I agree that he has not been playing at the standards he has set for himself, but with the array of talent and different qualities around him, I am really looking forward to seeing how he works with guys like Zubimendi and Gyokeres. I back him to remind everybody what a top player he is.
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He and Saka have played so many minutes over the last few seasons, and others have cited this as the reason for injuries and drop in form. Now that we have a pretty much complete squad, I expect him to return to his best, but it is taking longer due to his own injuries, and the absence of other players due to injuries. As others have said, it’ll be great to see how he performs with the likes of Zubimendi, Gyokeres and Eze across a decent run of games that aren’t disrupted by players being out.
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I don’t disagree, but personally I think it is going to depend on the opponent. Eze, IMO, is far more effective in providing a clear attacking and goal scoring threat. Odegaard is great in terms of build up play, but we then rely on our front 3. If we are up against a low block, we can struggle, given Odegaard’s reluctance to shoot.
I just hope that Odegaard has fully recovered from his injury and is now consistently available until the end of the season. We are going to need our best players to win the League. It’s fantastic to have this dilemma on who to start out of Odegaard and Eze.
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Good to see him play full 90, gonna need him to step it up though
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Thought he was crap.
He was but it’s his first 90 minutes in God knows how long.
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Yeah but it was more of the same as his last 90 minutes
Mate, I was irritated by his performance yesterday. He offered nothing, slowed the game down every time he got the ball, kept passing sideways.
But he has shown glimpses of his old sharp self in a couple of games this season, Newcastle and a CL game, can’t remember which one. So I hold on to the hope that he’ll rediscover his old form as he gets more match.
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First full PL game since the opener against Man Utd.
Now we just need him to have a good game at some point 
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