Martin Odegaard is everything for Arsenal – he’s at the heartbeat of everything positive they do.
That’s the view of Gunners legend Martin Keown, who believes the Norwegian playmaker is arguably the most important player for a club in the Premier League.
Odegaard made his eagerly-awaited comeback return in the 1-1 draw away at Chelsea prior to the November international break.
It was his first top-flight appearance since August 31 having suffered ankle ligament damage on international duty in early September.
In the 25-year-old’s absence, Arsenal won just three out of seven Premier League matches, with Mikel Arteta‘s men seriously lacking in creativity.
Heralded for their free-flowing attacking football in the last two years, Arsenal then faced criticism having struggled to find any fluidity, resulting in a negative approach.
It led to the famous cries of ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ being thrown at the north Londoners, whose titles aspirations have taken a blow without Odegaard.
They currently sit nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool having failed to win any of their four fixtures following the October break.
And if there was any ever doubting Odegaard’s importance to Arsenal, his dazzling display against Chelsea was proof he is vital to the club achieving any type of success.
It was Odegaard who supplied the assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s 60th minute opener – finding the Brazilian with a sumptuous lofted pass from the edge of the box.
Gooners – and three-time Premier League champion Keown – is hoping the midfielder’s return will now result in the club moving up from fourth in the table.
But the question mark still remains as to whether Arsenal need to splash the cash in order bring in a deadly finisher.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.com about whether that should be a priority for Arteta, Keown said: “I think that does become obvious when Odegaard is not available.
“It was very significant the creativity that he created, it’ll be like taking Cole Palmer out of the Chelsea team when you consider how well Odegaard did.
“I think first of all, to come back from being out for six weeks and to hit the ground running like he did shows you how he’s applied himself when he’s been out.
“He set up Arsenal’s goal, it was great to see Martinelli put that one away, but more recently, we’ve become predictable around the opponents goal.
“And maybe that’s top of the shopping list for a striker to come in, but really, the problem for Arsenal so far this season has been about discipline and injuries.”
He added: “Now that Odegaard is back, I think the way that he performed [against Chelsea] deserves praise.
“To be out that long shows you how hard-working he is, he hit the ground running, he created the goal.
“Arteta will be praying and hoping that the luck now turns around.”
Arsenal Invincible Keown then went on to discuss how important Odegaard is for the Emirates outfit – likening his situation to Rodri‘s injury.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal in September, with Pep Guardiola’s men currently on a four-match losing streak.
Keown remarked: “Arsenal are not winning the tight games this season, they were last year, with Inter Milan being one of those, losing the game unfortunately with a controversial decision against them.
“They scored 91 [Premier League] goals last season, but most of it was in and around Odegaard.
“And [Smile] Smith Rowe was allowed to leave [to join Fulham] because Odegaard, two years without even missing a game, and low and behold Smith Rowe is gone with our blessing.
“But you can see now, if he [Arteta] had him, he might have been useful, [Ethan] Nwaneri is perhaps six months away from where the manager wants him to be.
“So he’s held him back a bit, a real good talent, so the timing isn’t really helping from an Arsenal point of view.
“But it’s one of those where the manager goes, ‘Right, you’ve got to show your teeth, you’ve got to go out there the next game and it has to be three points, and it has to be six or seven games now where you really put Liverpool under pressure.’
“Odegaard created 102 chances [last season] – more than anybody in the Premier League and 41 times he retrieved the ball in the final third.
“So in possession and out of possession, I’m struggling to think of a more important player in the Premier League.
“It’s a shame to say it can’t be about one player, but we could look at Man City and say, no Rodri has created this spiralling effect.
“Players are sometimes irreplaceable, and Odegaard has been that for Arsenal.”
In a boost for Arsenal, Odegaard will be fit and ready to face Nottingham Forest after the break having withdrawn from Norway’s Nations League clashes with Slovenia and Kazakhstan.
And you can be sure he will chomping at the bit to make up for his lost time.
