It’s been no secret that Arsenal have seriously been lacking in the creative department. Ever since the departures of Cazorla, Ramsey, and Özil, the squad has been left with a HUGE void to fill. Arteta quickly discovered this, and it’s precisely why Emile Smith Rowe’s introduction to the first 11 made such an enormous impact.
Action was taken in January when Özil did finally leave to Fenerbahce with the loan signing of Martin Ødegaard. Having settled in rather quickly, the 22-year-old Norway captain was given the number 11 and was chucked straight in, making an instant impact.
Six months on, as the transfer window approaches its close, Arteta and Edu have struck a permanent deal with Real Madrid for Martin Ødegaard in the region of 30 million pounds!
In this breakdown, we’re looking at what Ødegaard will bring to the table and why it’s a smart signing, both for financial and footballing reasons.
The Stats
While Ødegaard’s numbers on paper didn’t reveal much, racking up 2 goals and 2 assists in 20 matches, a lot of his brilliance was in the smaller details.
In the 14 Premier League appearances Ødegaard has made for Arsenal so far:
Passes
* He successfully completed 450 passes out of 521 (86.4%)
* He completed 21 passes that directly led to a shot
* 18 of his completed passes were into the 18-yard box
* And five were passes that led to a goal
A lot of the work that Ødegaard does is not necessarily at the forefront of many analyses where the focus is purely on assists and goals. Instead, Ødegaard excels in the buildup – finding those pockets of space which often lead to him picking out those defence-splitting passes.
And despite only playing 14 times in the Premier League, amongst the Arsenal squad, he still ranked 8th for goal-creating actions (6) and second for goal-creating actions per 90 (0.62). And while on the pitch, he boasted an xG of 1.54 per 90.
When he’s not distributing, he’s busy running at players:
Dribbles
* Ranked 9th for successful dribbles (12 out of 18)
* Ranked 11th for number of players dribbled past (12)
Ødegaard is a very confident player with the ball at his feet. He enjoys carrying it and pushing the team forward, and he certainly doesn’t shy away from taking on his man. This was a characteristic that he often showed while on loan with Real Sociedad, in Spain.
Performance analysis
A lot of the quality that Ødegaard brings to Arsenal is so often swept under the rug, as was the case with Özil. So, let’s break down one his finer performances in the 3-3 draw away to West Ham.
One thing that we’ve noticed is how willing he is to track back and collect the ball from deep.
In this instance, he tracks back to pick up the ball and picks out Lacazette straight away to launch a counter.
When he has possession in the middle, he always attracts a fair number of defenders, dragging them out of position.
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In image 2, he’s got four West Ham players on him, and similarly in Image 3, three West Ham players. By dragging these players out to close him down, gaps are created and spaces are opened up for our wing-backs.
If the opposition don’t close him down, he’s capable of really hurting them.
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The sequence in images 4 and 5 showcase Ødegaard’s great vision to pick out Chambers. In acres of space, Chambers whips in a dangerous ball into the box which ends up in the back of net as an own goal. A very Øzil-esque pass, and certainly the exact type of creative thinking we’ve been lacking.
In Images 6 and 7, a similar, piercing pass is executed to Pepe.
Image 6
While the simpler pass may have been out to Tierney, Ødegaard had different ideas.
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He ends up picking out a lovely, quick, grounded pass to Pepe who gets a chance to shoot in the box.
However, as we’ve discovered above, Ødegaard is not only useful for his passing, but also his willingness to drive forward with and without the ball.
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He isn’t afraid to run in behind and find space between the channels. Arteta gives him that licence to roam like Wenger did with Ramsey. It pushes the attack forward and puts the defence under pressure.
And the more he does this, the more chances we’ll get in the box:
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And we’ll score more goals as a result:
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This wonderful move led to Lacazette’s equalizer. Ødegaard’s forward run allowed Pepe the space who only had to cross in the box for Lacazette to head home.
Final note
While he may not be Maddison, we know just how good he can be. He’s two years younger, extremely creative, motivated, captain of his national team, and overall, a “good egg” for the squad.
Watch the video above of his mic’d up performance against West Ham. He’s got everything to succeed at Arsenal.
At 30 million, Arsenal are getting a bargain. It leaves room for another signing, and he is someone who will slot right in with the squad. Importantly, it’ll also push Emile Smith Rowe while providing him with some respite so as to not burn him out.
Is he going to fix all of our problems? Certainly not. But there are only positives to this signing. It’s a step in the right direction, with an eye on the present as well as the future.