Now here’s a fun sentence to type: There are so many good, young options in Arsenal’s attacking midfield corps, I honestly don’t know who should start.
At the beginning of the season, it was pretty clear the three behind striker should be Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. Gabriel Martinelli, while remaining a fan favorite, hadn’t made the most of his two cameos to start the season, nor his cup starts.
But something has changed: Martinelli has come in and made an impact. He’s been arguably Arsenal’s top outfield player in the stretch going back to Old Trafford, with Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu each having a shout there.
That leaves Arteta in a situation that’s both enviable and unenviable: He’s got four players, all of whom deserve maximum minutes, battling it out for three places. That is unless, of course, you fancy Martinelli as a striker, but that doesn’t seem likely at this juncture, even with Aubameyang in trouble, Nketiah on his way out and Lacazette posting an occasional anonymous performance.
So, what can stats tell us about each of the four in the picture? Let’s take a look:
Martinelli
I’ve written about this here before: Gabriel Martinelli wasn’t inspiring confidence early in the season. Even against inferior opposition. But then he came in and scored against Newcastle, and things seemed to change.
Martinelli offers you enthusiasm and back-breaking hard work. He doesn’t stop running. There are times when I’m watching him when I literally wonder whether he has actual human lungs.
That effort pays off: Over the past three games, Martinelli has finished first, second and first among Arsenal attackers in successful pressures. Since his start at Old Trafford, Gabi has successfully pressured the ball 17 times in 41 attempts, around 6 per 90 at a 41.5% success rate. Sustained over a full season, he’d be among the best pressers in the league.
You’ll find over the course of this piece that Martinelli has the least-impressive radar chart to date, since he’s not carrying the ball much, passing progressively or dribbling much to date. But at least in terms of the eye test and form, it’s tough to think about dropping him.
Emile Smith Rowe
If you had to give a “breakout” award for anyone on this Arsenal squad, Emile Smith Rowe should be high on your list. He was easy to appreciate last season, but what we’ve seen from him this campaign has actually shown through on the stat sheet.
The Smith is Arsenal’s leading scorer in league play so far this season, with 5, and he’s got two assists. He and Saka are the club’s two leading ballcarriers among attackers, but ESR’s turnover stats are stronger even than Bukayo’s (although Saka is affected by some early-season form issues).
It really shouldn’t take too many words to impress upon you the importance of Smith Rowe to this club’s success, but here’s one more chart showing how much more effective Emile is in the buildup phase, though Martinelli has some clear advantages so far this season as well.
Courtesy Understat.com
Bukayo Saka
There was a point early this season where it would have been reasonable, if a bit reactionary, to worry about Bukayo Saka’s form. If you’ve watched the last few games, you no longer have to worry.
Saka still has ground to cover as a shooter, with a goals-expected goals number better than only Aubameyang and Pepe on this season’s team. But Bukayo fills in the margins with such intelligence and skill that it’s hard to miss.
His 56 shot-creating actions (4.37 per 90 minutes) lead Arsenal by nearly 20, and tied for seventh in the league. In fact, he’s sixth in the league per 90 minutes among those who have played at least 90 games.
Despite a poor start on the ball, Bukayo’s come on strong in that department. He’s now T-13th in Dribbles Completed in the Premier League this season, with only three of the players above him having completed their dribbles at a higher success rate.
And while he had issues retaining possession early in the season, he’s taken a sharp turn to the good of late. Through week 12’s loss at Anfield, Bukayo had registered 27 miscontrols and 21 dispossessions, both poor numbers. In the four games since? 4 miscontrols, 5 dispossessions.
Martin Odegaard
As of about a month ago, Odegaard might have been the odd man out here. But the former Real Madrid wonderkid has been in sensational form in the past three games, even if he doesn’t want to talk about Manchester United and Everton.
Odegaard is a vocal leader, something this club desperately needs, especially now. He’s the second-most-active presser among the regular attackers, with only Martinelli doing harder work in that department. Although he’s criticized frequently for ball control, only Smith Rowe has fewer turnovers per 90.
Odegaard is second among club regulars in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes, behind only Saka. He leads in passes completed into the penalty area, is second in key passes, and is significantly above average in his contributions to buildup. Check out how pedestrian he makes Saka look in xGBuildup here:
courtesy Understat.com
So, have we cleared that up? Feels pretty easy to me…just kidding.
This is undoubtedly a good problem to have. After all, these players do have some interchangeability, so whoever is left out of the starting XI can sub in for any of the other three, with some adjustments.
With these four all shining and (their play) demanding more minutes, it’s going to be up to Mikel Arteta to rotate and use them wisely. If he can do so, the future is very bright for The Arsenal.