Mikel Arteta must continue to start Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze together if Arsenal are to have the best chance of winning the Premier League or Champions League titles
11:26, 21 Apr 2026
Kai Havertz, Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard need to start together for Arsenal in the run-in
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Kai Havertz, Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard need to start together for Arsenal in the run-in(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The pain of losing at Manchester City remains strong, but perhaps not for the reasons many believed going into it. While optimism was low due to the run of form both sides had before the match, there was plenty of reason for belief despite the defeat.
Arsenal approached the game aggressively and certainly deserved more than they came away with, creating the bulk of the better chances and sadly not being clinical enough to finish them. There were also some questionable officiating decisions regarding Abdukodir Khusanov’s last-man challenge on Kai Havertz and Erling Haaland’s grappling of Gabriel Magalhaes’ shirt for the winning goal.
Gabriel, too, could, or maybe should, have seen red himself, but this was much later in the game. Mikel Arteta, however, is widely believed to have taken the right approach to win the match, just like he said he would.
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The line-up was the immediate injection of positivity with Kai Havertz starting up front, Eberechi Eze on the left wing and Martin Odegaard as the central playmaker. These three players proved to be key to the Gunners’ upturn in performance.
The problem was that both Havertz and Odegaard, at key moments, failed to execute, be that with passes or finishing. The German, of course, scored the equaliser but missed two big chances to get the second, Eze too striking the post from outside the box with an opportunity made from almost nothing.
Odegaard created four chances in the game, two more than the entire outfield contingent and substitutions combined. While Havertz had three shots, three more than Viktor Gyokeres has managed in his five appearances against Man City and Liverpool this season.
All of Odegaard, Havertz and Eze have suffered with fitness issues this season and remain lacking the sharpness needed, but still all three were vital to the improved display. It leads to one very easy conclusion; therefore, in the remaining seven or eight games that are left, barring injury, they all must start in every game.
Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi, too, are must-starts, as are William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. For now, Piero Hincapie appears to be in that group with David Raya.
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It leaves the right-back role, until Jurrien Timber returns and the right wing, until Bukayo Saka returns, as question marks. But with so little time remaining, team rotation is not the answer, and rest will need to be done in-game through substitutions in the second half.
The more the players play together, the better the connections on the field. It is Arsenal’s best shot, and needs to be taken.
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