MIKEL ARTETA has challenged Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard to become Arsenal’s very own Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
The Gunners skipper and playmaker Odegaard has forged a telepathic relationship with winger Saka down the right side of the pitch over the past few seasons – their side’s primary goal-scoring source.
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are a key duo for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are a key duo for Mikel Arteta's ArsenalCredit: Getty
Barcelona's Xavi and Andres Iniesta were one of the game's great partnerships
Barcelona's Xavi and Andres Iniesta were one of the game's great partnershipsCredit: Getty
In fact, since Odegaard returned from a two month lay-off with an ankle ligament injury last month, 51.4 per cent of their chances have been created down the right flank – the highest in the Prem.
In their 3-0 defeat of Nottingham Forest on November 23, they shared 36 passes between each other – the second highest combo between two players, excluding defenders, this term.
And last season, they created 40 open play chances for each other in the Prem, passing to each other 322 times.
Excluding centre backs, only Manchester City’s Rodri and Mateo Kovacic produced more.
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The stats are there, but the trophies for Arsenal under Arteta – as of yet – are not, something that Barcelona legends Iniesta and Xavi collected at an alarming rate during their careers.
Together at the Nou Camp, to name a few, they won seven La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.
Alongside star names like Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Neymar, that midfield duo were the threads that knitted everyone together – the consistent, reliable catalysts that kept Pep Guardiola’s Barca on the right track for European glory and historic Trebles year after year.
This is what Arteta eyes for both Odegaard, 25, and Saka, 23 as the North Londoners aim to finally end their 20-year wait for a Prem title – especially with a mountain to climb this term currently nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
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Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United, when asked if he has seen a better relationship between two players, boss Arteta - a former Barca academy product - said: “Yes. I always think about Barcelona with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. It was unbelievable.
“They didn’t even need to look at each other.
“Our two centre backs [William Saliba and Gabriel] naturally there is a chemistry there that is unbelievable.
“So, we try to develop those more and more because there is something there that is very difficult to put a number to it.
“But it’s close in a natural way and the more relationships you have make the team the better.”
Arteta welcomes Ruben Amorim, 39, to the Emirates just weeks after the Portuguese coach took charge of Manchester United – drawing one and winning two of his first three games in charge in all competitions.
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Also in his late thirties when he arrived at his first job in the English football, Arteta knows what it takes to hit the ground running at a big club with results that demand patience and earn respect.
Having been hired by Arsenal in December 2019 as a 37-year-old, asked what lessons he had for Amorim, Arteta – now 42 – explained: “How unpredictable the job is.
“I jumped into a new job in the middle of the season in very special circumstances socially. Then we got hit by COVID.
“You can plan whatever you want but football brings different things and you have to deal with it. Take it as it comes and deal with it.
“But you can see his fingerprints [at United] in what he wants to do straight away. He’s been very clear with what he wants to do. What he did with Sporting Lisbon was remarkable after so many years.
“Especially the way he did it and the way his teams are playing. It brings energy to a new club and the players which is always positive. But we have to focus on what we’re doing.”
On whether United – currently 15 points off Liverpool – can still challenge for the title, Arteta added: “We are still very early in the season.
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"Any team that has got the capacity to put five or six wins in a row is going to be up there because it is so tough and you see very week how the teams are struggling to maintain winning, winning and winning.
“So, I think anything I possible.”