Arsenal legend Martin Keown has hailed Martin Odegaard as “the most important player in the Premier League”.
The Gunners captain has recently returned to action after missing 12 games across all competitions with an ankle injury sustained whilst on national team duty with Norway during the September international break.
Though Arsenal showed signs early on of coping without Odegaard - registering notable wins over Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, and drawing away at Manchester City with 10 men - the 25-year-old’s absence eventually began to tell.
Not only did the north London outfit slip to costly defeats against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, in both games they were devoid of creativity and it’s a huge reason as to why they currently trail Liverpool by nine points in the Premier League title race.
But Odegaard is back and his impact has been immediate. In three appearances, he’s registered two assists and perhaps it’s no coincidence that Arsenal have produced two of their best performances of the season - against Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP - since his return.
And it’s because of the Gunners’ dip in form without him as to why Keown believes the Norwegian is the most important player across the entire division.
"He’s created 102 chances – more than anyone in the Premier League – and 41 times he’s retrieved the ball in the final third so in and out of possession, I’m struggling to think of a more important player in the Premier League," he told talkSPORT.
"It’s a shame to say that it’s about one player but we could look at Man City and say that no Rodri has really created this spiralling effect so sometimes players are irreplaceable and Odegaard has been that for Arsenal.
"It becomes obvious when he’s not available. It was very significant the creativity that he created – it would be like taking Cole Palmer out of the Chelsea team when you consider how well he did.
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"To come back after six weeks out and hit the ground running in the way that he did shows how he’s applied himself when he’s been out. We’d become predictable in front of goal."
Odegaard will look to continue his impressive form on Saturday evening as Arsenal go in search of a victory over West Ham United that would see them cut the gap on Liverpool to six points ahead of their massive game against Manchester City.