Mikel Arteta continues to divide the fan base. The Spaniard finished with back-to-back eighth-place finishes in the league. Overseeing some of the worst periods of Arsenal’s Premier League history in regard to competitiveness.
However, things are improving. Arsenal sit on the same number of points as fourth place in the table after 13 games and have reached the quarter-final of the League Cup in which they have a great chance to progress to the semi-final by beating League One Sunderland.
A positive summer window has seen the most spent by the club in one summer across their entire history to sign six players for the first-team squad.
Yet the online discussions surrounding Arteta continue to rage on and recently those at the end of the spectrum who would prefer the manager gone, have found a new target.
Writing recently about how Martin Odegaard was seemingly becoming the new scapegoat to criticise despite good overall squad performances, one line stood out which was worthy of investigating further.
In the article, Odegaard was highlighted as the weakest of the six summer signings made during the summer. Nuno Tavarez, Sambi Lokonga, Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu have all impressed and earned their place as regular starters in the team.
Odegaard however has faced difficulty this season. Despite showing great tenacity and pressing, a likely characteristic that drew Arteta to the Norwegian in the first place, his raw goals and assists statistics are lacking.
He was dropped from the starting eleven against Aston Villa after a poor outing against Crystal Palace in which his replacement Alexandre Lacazette scored a last-minute equaliser.
Odegaard returned for the Newcastle match and Arsenal recorded their second-highest shot frequency match this season with 24 attempts on goal. Odegaard started the side’s highest too with the 1-0 win over Norwich.
(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Barring a criminal touch from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ruling out what would have been a brilliant goal for the 22-year-old at home to Watford, he would have two goals in seven starts. These need to improve without doubt but goals aren’t his primary aim, creativity is.
The descriptions of “not good enough” or “overrated” and “a waste of money,” which you easily find by typing his name into the search bar on Twitter, come far too prematurely for such finite statements.
Attempting to understand why there is such a sizeable outcry to diminish the 22-year-old, it became clear that returning to the association with Arteta and being the weakest of the six summer signings was a primary source of the backlash.
(Image: Getty Images)
It is becoming an increasingly common sight on social media to see some Arsenal supporters, emphasis on the ‘some,’ to find any way possible to attempt to undermine the coach.
This isn’t in reference to fair criticism. No one is devoid of criticism. It is the clear line being crossed where it becomes evident that no matter what changes, improves or progresses the overriding need to have been right in the initial assumption regarding Arsenal’s manager blinds those to sensible and level-headed thinking.
Therefore, where five of the six signings are performing to and above expectation, Odegaard stands out as the easy target.
There are elements of the Norwegian midfielder’s game that need to improve, this is clear. As are plenty of aspects of a lot of 22-year-olds and other players starting from a variety of age groups.
Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka need to improve their end product. Thomas Partey must improve his consistency and influence on games. Tomiyasu’s deliveries need to be more regularly akin to the pass which fed Gabriel Martinelli on Saturday.
Ben White must be better with his decision-making when dribbling out with the ball and not lose it in dangerous positions. Aaron Ramsdale needs to maintain focus throughout games and not allow his brilliant performances and confidence to affect his concentration as seen against Leicester City and Watford.
No player is beyond criticism, or to better describe it, the highlighting of areas of development.
Yet, there needs to be a level of context applied to each player and for some to write off Odegaard after less than 12 months at the club speaks of a viewpoint either influenced by him not being the player preferred by some to have been signed this summer or the bias associated with many of Arteta’s biggest hate mongers.
After more time, likely the end of the season at the earliest, should Odegaard not have progressed as a player nor improved his areas of development, then discussions regarding the club aiming to sign a better player can be had.
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