Mikel Arteta and Theo Walcott agree on 'predictable' problem that Arsenal wonderkid can solve
Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal are a 'different' team without Martin Odegaard, and Theo Walcott has found a solution to the problem. The 25-year-old midfielder recently recovered from an ankle injury he suffered while away on international duty in September.
In Odegaard's absence, the Gunners fell to fourth in the Premier League and nine points behind Liverpool in the title race. Since the Norwegian's return to action earlier this month, Arsenal have looked rejuvenated, securing a draw against Chelsea and a win over Nottingham Forest.
Odegaard has recorded an assist in each of his last two games for the North Londoners, and he'll be hoping to carry over his form into the Champions League. Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show ahead of Arsenal's clash against Sporting, Walcott referenced the playmaker's connection with Bukayo Saka.
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"You would expect them to dominate a lot more games but now you see Odegaard coming back, the connection he has with Saka," said the former Gunner. "Particularly when Odegaard has the ball, everything lights up, everything just gets a bit more of an Arsenal-type feel about them.
"At times, Arsenal became quite predictable putting in crosses but now they’re doing those kinds of combinations. The run Odegaard made to make the space for Partey [to score]."
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the Sporting clash, Arteta agreed. The Spaniard said: "It is different [without Odegaard in the team]. He is a different player and a unique player in our team. For the energy that he brings, the understanding of the game that he has and the trust that he has from everybody.
"He is the player that connects everything, that's him. His body language, his capacity to link with the ball and the way he drives the press makes him a very important player and that is why he is our captain. Obviously we have certain chemistries in the team that have been built over a period of time.
"We are building others and I think they are going to be really strong as well. What I was really pleased about is that we played with so much enthusiasm, energy and quality. I saw a different team in that sense."
On Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show, Walcott suggested that Arsenal may have become overly reliant on Odegaard, highlighting Ethan Nwaneri as somebody 'not far off' from filling his skipper's shoes. The former Gunner said: "This is the player I wanted to see more of when Odegaard was out.
"Nwaneri is a player that the Arsenal fans and academy seem [to think] so highly [of]. For me personally when I see a player that comes through the academy at an age where he is actually quite experienced as well, I can relate to it.
"He has a lot more experience playing at the highest level, being around these players consistently. That’s why I wanted to see more of him when Odegaard was out - he’s different, and Arsenal needed something different to get them through that patch without Odegaard. Odegaard, he is that magician and he’s not far off."