Martin
Ødegaard played a key role in Arsenal’s statement win over
Aston Villa on Tuesday. With him in this kind of form, there may be
no stopping his side in the title race.
A blip. A wobble. A mini-crisis. Call it what you want, Arsenal
went into Tuesday night’s top-of-the-table battle with Aston Villa
after a shaky few weeks.
With defensive injuries causing problems at the back, there were
dropped points against Sunderland, Chelsea and Villa, before
unconvincing wins over rock-bottom Wolves and Everton, and they
needed a penalty shootout to beat Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.
Even against Brighton at the weekend, when they had been fully in
control for much of the game, they ended up holding on at the end
to see out a 2-1 win.
It meant that, coming into this week’s return game against
Villa, the gap at the top had been cut to two points. Unai Emery’s
in-form side were a further point back and knew they could level
with Arsenal if they were to repeat their win at Villa Park earlier
this month.
News on Tuesday afternoon that Declan
Rice would be missing for the first time this season sent
nerves jangling among the fanbase that their slightly off-colour
team would struggle against top-quality opposition. Many at the
club are worried that history will repeat itself this season and
Arsenal will fall away in the title race.
So, a positive result was needed as much as a statement, but in
the end, the players provided both. And captain Martin Ødegaard was
integral.
There had been some doubts about his ongoing value to the team.
With Eberechi
Eze joining in the summer and shining, most notably in
match-winning performances against rivals Tottenham and former club
Palace, some fans were beginning to wonder whether Ødegaard
deserved his starting spot any longer. A series of injuries
disrupted his start to the season, and his very best form eluded
him for months on end.
However, both against Brighton at the weekend and Villa in
midweek, Ødegaard was the best player on the pitch, proving his
worth to this team beyond any doubt.
There should be no questioning the significance of Gabriel Magalhães’ return at centre-back. In his first start
since 8 November, the Brazilian opened the scoring from a corner
and played a key role in shutting Villa out. It wasn’t until
second-half stoppage time, long after he had been withdrawn, that
Villa had their first shot on target of the game.
But in the absence of Arsenal’s best ball-winner in midfield in
Rice, Ødegaard had even more responsibility than usual, and he
thrived.
His contribution was perhaps best summed up by his sensational
work in setting up Martín Zubimendi to double Arsenal’s lead, taking the game away
from Villa minutes after Gabriel had broken the deadlock.
First, Ødegaard did what Rice normally does so well and snapped
into a tackle on Jadon Sancho, winning the ball as Villa tried to
build through midfield to regain a foothold in the game. He then
charged forward in possession, drew Youri Tielemans in and slipped
a perfectly weighted through ball into Zubimendi’s path. There was
just enough on it to tempt Emiliano Martínez off his line, and the
Spaniard poked the ball into the corner of the net. From there,
there was no way back for Villa.
That assist was one of the seven line-breaking passes Ødegaard
played over the course of the evening, which was more than any
other teammate. For Villa, only right-back Lamare Bogarde played
more, but seven of his eight broke Arsenal’s attacking line, while
six of Ødegaard’s seven broke Villa’s midfield or defensive line.
In other words, the Norwegian’s contributions – quite naturally –
came in much more advanced and threatening areas of the pitch.
Indeed, no player on the pitch could top his six line-breaking
passes in the attacking third, or his three into the opposition’s
penalty area.
These numbers shouldn’t really have come as much of a surprise.
Despite injury issues hampering his progress and restricting his
game time this season – he has played just 718 of a possible 1,710
minutes in the Premier
League (42.0%), with 13 teammates playing more – he has made
more line-breaking passes into the penalty area than any other
Arsenal player (16).
Clearly, Ødegaard does things no other player in the squad can.
Eze is a wonderful talent and scores goals in volumes that Ødegaard
doesn’t, but he isn’t, and shouldn’t be considered, a perfect
direct replacement. In 916 minutes of action this season, Eze has
played just two line-breaking passes into the opposition’s penalty
area. It was telling on Tuesday that Eze remained an unused
substitute as Arsenal romped to a statement win in the title
race.
There are aspects of his game that Ødegaard still needs to
improve. His opener against Brighton at the weekend was his first
goal in any competition this season, while his assist for Zubimendi
was only his third of the campaign, and first since early November.
A player as technically able and creative as him should arguably be
troubling the scoreboard more often than he does.
But now 27 years old, he is developing into a more rounded
player, one who has taken on the responsibility of the armband
impressively, particularly in how hard he works. He presses
brilliantly, averaging more possession regains in the final third
(1.1 per 90) than any other player in the Premier League to play at
least 600 minutes, while his total of seven tackles, interceptions
and fouls on Tuesday was topped by only one player on either side
(Zubimendi, with eight).
Ødegaard wasn’t the main story. It was an Arsenal win that
firmly reasserted their title credentials and conclusively left
that blip, wobble, crisis, or whatever we’re calling it, well in
the past.
But with Ødegaard showing he can put in captain’s performances
like this one, there should be no doubting how significant he could
be in Arsenal’s quest to finally, once again, become Premier League
champions.
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