LONDON -- After a summer of haranguing and nail-biting, it turned out Arsenal did not need to worry about their shortage of world-class attackers. They had those at home already. Which way is he going to go, you're wondering.
This could be a celebration of Kai Havertz, whose flicks and feints had Chelsea necks twisted in their 2-1 defeat. Bukayo Saka might not have had a goal involvement. He offered everything else.
But no, make this an ode to Martin Odegaard. Not until he was hoisting aloft Arsenal's first Premier League title in 22 years did the grumbling around the club captain truly subside. Odegaard's struggles last season were such that they occasionally broke containment from social media, the odd game where he dropped too deep too often, earning that exasperated sigh that no one does quite like the Emirates Stadium.
A few months on, maybe you can see their point. The Odegaard of 2024-25 and 2025-26 was one of the Premier League's better pure creators, a volume passer and progressor who could run a press with the efficiency of a union organiser. If the standard you were holding him to was most of his contemporaries, he was notably superior.
The discord comes when the standards you hold him against are Odegaard's. Then you are looking for arguably the best creator in the league, the press, progression and passing conductor and a volume scorer. In the first title challenge of 2022-23 he delivered 15 goals off the back of almighty xG overperformance but at least he was getting in the spots to hit that hot streak.
The year before, he had taken 53 shots. The following year he was down at 49, the volume per 90 dropping below two, having previously been well clear. Last season Arsenal won the title as their attacking midfielder averaged fewer shots per 90 minutes than defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard or left back Riccardo Calafiori.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
