Arsenal have got 'The O-zone' Martin Odegaard back in their squad and he impressed in the 3-0 win over Coventry City
Martin Odegaard looks like a player back to his best as Arsenal smash Coventry City on the opening day
Martin Odegaard looks like a player back to his best as Arsenal smash Coventry City on the opening day(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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Martin Odegaard's goal in the 3-0 win over Coventry City equalled his tally from last season in all competitions. The Norwegian endured a very difficult campaign with four different injuries, but in Arsenal’s opening match, he pulled the strings and scored in the perfect start to the new season.
After winning back-to-back Player of the Seasons in 2022/23 and 2023/24, the Arsenal captain was nowhere near the nominations the following two seasons. Known for popping up in the space on the edge and just inside the penalty box, Odegaard seemingly lost that sense to regularly attack the 16-yard area as he used to - an area that would come to be known as the 'O-zone'.
Criticisms came the skipper’s way in the form of frustrations at how deep he would drop into the midfield to try to progress the play. Physically, he wasn’t offering as much as fans hoped he would as he did in prior seasons.
What we have seen during the pre-season is a player sharp and ready. Always running, always scanning, and always looking to find the key pass.
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But the pleasure of seeing Odegaard darting into the spaces he had previously been so threatening was enough to bring a smile to many a face. His finish might not have been as cinematic as it was during the FA Community Shield against Manchester City, but as long as it goes in, who cares?
One accusation of Arsenal is that maybe they don’t care enough about one of the players left out of the group, Gabriel Martinelli. At least that is what Ian Wright alluded to regarding the Brazilian when asked about his absence from the team.
“The way Gabriel Martinelli is being treated is making me feel uncomfortable,” Wright said on Sky Sports. “He always gives 100%, he’s scored some important goals.
“He’s not being spoken to, he doesn’t know what’s going on - I know this.”
Ethan Nwaneri was brought in for the injured Bruno Guimaraes from the team that featured in the Community Shield. Also left out were Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson, not to mention the injured William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, plus the newly-arrived but not yet registered Ezri Konsa.
While many fans are still clamouring for signings, specifically up top, there is no doubt that Arsenal have plenty of players. For Konsa and Guimaraes to be in the group for next week’s game against Aston Villa, two more players will have to be left out the group.
For Martinelli, if Wright is indeed right, then there is a question to ask if the club are handling the potential moving on of a player in the right way, as others have suggested in articles this week. However, some might argue that this is the ruthless nature of evolving a squad at the elite level.
He has been replaced by a gem of a player, however, in Christos Tzolis, who has been absolutely fantastic. £34million amongst all the talk of £85million for Savinho or £70million for Yankuba Minteh or £117million for Morgan Rogers is looking already an absolute bargain.
And it begs the question, with just nine days remaining of the transfer window, whether the club needs to spend a huge fee like so many of their rivals are, on a player that still might not give the guarantees that they’re looking for. football.london understands that a £100million-plus move for Julian Alvarez is, at this stage, unlikely.
Kai Havertz scored in the first game, and Viktor Gyokeres couldn’t get on the pitch. Arsenal have plenty of firepower, and if the player isn’t absolutely right, then arguably they shouldn’t make a move.
Instead, perhaps a leaf should be taken from the Tzolis book, and maybe the Gunners should look into the market again for a win-win signing. A player whose cost and profile is lower, but whose potential is high.
Hard to find, and with an interesting time left of this window, sporting director Andrea Berta has plenty of work still to do. For Arteta, his job just became much simpler: do that again, and again, and again. Football is a simple game, isn’t it?