In the summer transfer window, it was imperative that Arsenal acquired a creative midfielder to ease the burden that was placed on Emile Smith Rowe’s shoulders.
James Maddison and Houssem Aouar were heavily linked with moves to the club, but in the end, the north Londoners acquired Martin Odegaard on a permanent deal from Real Madrid for a reported fee of £30 million.
Operating in the number 10 position, Arsenal‘s new number 8 is tasked with dropping deep within the right half-space to facilitate ball progression, followed by providing creativity in advanced areas in between the lines.
Odegaard will hope to deliver performances that former Arsenal creator Mesut Ozil produced for the club on a regular basis.
But despite the fact that Odegaard will be tasked to fill the void left by the Fenerbahce star, the 22-year-old would prefer that comparisons aren’t made and went on to say how much he admired Ozil from a young age.
”I don’t like too much the comparisons,” he told Stadium Astro
“He was one of my favourite players when I was young. I always admired him. His quality is amazing. It’s nice to hear [comparisons] but I don’t think too much about it.”
Odegaard was handed his first start in the new Premier League season last weekend in the Gunners’ 1-0 victory against Norwich and it’s fair to say he impressed.
The former Real Madrid midfielder led the press, regularly making life difficult for the Norwich centre backs to play out from the back with ease and on multiple occasions forced turnovers.
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In possession, Odegaard showcased his ability to create space for others as well as executing incisive passes, one of which was a well-weighted lofted ball delivered over the top for Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng, who failed to convert the opportunity that came his way.
With Mikel Arteta’s men on the hunt for the second victory this afternoon against Burnley, without a shadow of a doubt, Sean Dyche will set his team up in a compact 4-4-2 low block out of possession.
In order to break down the Clarets’ stubborn defence, the creativity Odegaard possesses will be key in unlocking space for the front three.