Why Thomas Partey shouted at Martin Odegaard as Mikel Arteta reveals Arsenal wish

Excellent Odegaard

We spend hours and hours analysing football, but often it’s such a simple game.

Prior to Chelsea they hadn’t managed more than 10 shots in a league game since the last international break, and in seven of their 10 matches, the Gunners had failed to manage more than 1 xG from open play. Against Chelsea, they managed 13 shots and created 1.82xG from open play.

READ MORE:Arsenal player ratings vs Chelsea as Martin Odegaard shines on return and Partey good

READ MORE:Odegaard return vital, Liverpool nine-point lead - Is Arsenal's Premier League title race over?

What changed? The return of Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian’s comeback could not have been more perfectly timed. Without a direct replacement for their captain Arsenal have really lacked a creative spark.

That was most pressingly clear against Inter Milan on Wednesday. It might seem strange to say given that it was actually one of the Gunners’ better recent performances, but the reality is that they rather ran out of ideas. Without their creative hub in the middle Arsenal swung in cross after cross, ending the night with 33 from open play alone. The last time they had managed that many was a 2-1 defeat against Wolves in 2020 after which Mikel Arteta infamously declared it was “pure maths” that his side would score more if they kept pumping balls in to the box.

With Odegaard back centrally in between the lines Arsenal whipped in just 13 crosses at Stamford Bridge. They also played two through balls compared to none at the San Siro.

It’s not just the impact Odegaard has on the ball. The Norwegian is vital to everything Arsenal do off it too.

Time and again the Gunners fashioned chances by pressing Chelsea as they played out from the back, with Odegaard central to it. Within the first hour in west London, Arsenal had managed 13 high turnovers. Against Liverpool and Newcastle they mustered just 10 each in the entire match.

There’s so much more to talk about when it comes to Odegaard’s impact on the likes of Bukayo Saka and Ben White, and with two weeks to mull over this performance there will be plenty of time for that. But before it’s worth pausing to acknowledge just how impressive a display this was from a player who has been out for nearly two months with an ankle injury.

“I don’t know another player that is capable of (playing 90 minutes to that standard) after six weeks out,” Arteta said after the game. “He had a day and a half to be able to do that. Just how physically and mentally connected he was with the team it was unbelievable.”

Arsenal haven’t quite been themselves for the vast majority this season, and Odegaard’s absence has been a huge part of that. There’s a long way to go before they’re back to those post-Dubai heights and Odegaard himself isn't up to full speed. Thomas Partey could be seen telling the out of breath Norwegian to come closer to receive a pass from him in the early stages. But with their captain back Arsenal be hoping to reach their very best sooner rather than later.

Poor away form continues

Going into this season’s riproaring 2-2 draw at against Manchester City, Arsenal had won 10 of their 11 league games on the road in 2024 - with the one blot on their coffee book being the 0-0 draw at the Etihad in March. In nine of those 11 matches they had kept clean sheets. The drop off since that point has been stark.

Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet since and Gabriel Martinelli’s strike against Chelsea was their first on the road in the league of Champions League during that time. Across the course of the whole season the Gunners have had the second fewest shots of any team away from home in the Premier League too.

When asked to explain the form prior to the match, Arteta had been keen to point out the circumstances in which his side’s once proud away record had fallen away.

“There are other things like the level of opposition we have played, that's for sure,” he said. “Nobody has played the amount of away games that we have this season, and certainly not in the condition of playing half of those with 10 men. Nobody in the league.”

In fairness the Spaniard has a point. Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester City, Bournemouth and Newcastle is a brutal run of away fixtures to start the season. That’s before you factor in they played the majority of the games against City and Bournemouth with 10 men.

Against Chelsea though, there were no such excuses. Arsenal had only themselves to blame for dropping yet more points in the title race. The Gunners had survived some hairy moments like Malo Gusto’s headed chance, but were probably deservedly in front when Martinelli prodded past Robert Sanchez. The way they conceded the equaliser was unforgivable though.

Thomas Partey and Declan Rice were deep in with the back line instead of being able to close down Pedro Neto who Martinelli had completely lost. If you give any Premier League player that much space on the edge of the box there’s a chance they’ll punish you, and Neto duly obliged. Arteta was at least honest in admitting his side had been their own worst enemies here.

“I think today in that sense with the way we conceded, we have to fault ourselves,” he said. “That’s something that we have to do better, especially when you’re not scoring two or three goals and, at the moment, we are not.”

Arsenal must find a way to improve their away form if they are to find a way back into this title race. With a 10 point gap between them and Liverpool, there’s a strong argument that even a draw from this point on could be fatal.

Arteta makes a wish

We may be past Halloween, but it’s still far too early to be making Christmas wishes. Not that that stopped Mikel Arteta.

“What I’m praying is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped,” he said after the game. “That they are available and that they are fit, because it’s been a nightmare for eight weeks.

“Doubt after doubt, issue after issue, not only with the ones that are not able to play, but with the ones who are able to play only for certain moments and not able to play. So I’m just asking that, because the desire the team has and how much we want it there’s no question. It’s going to come. We just need that on our side to be more consistent.”

There has been little sympathy for Arsenal when it comes to injuries. It’s hard to argue they haven’t had rotten luck though. We’ve been through the Odegaard absence, but the lack of consistency in the back four when it comes to issues and suspensions has been remarkable. Arteta has already had to field six different back fours in the space just 11 Premier League games this season. That’s before you even consider in game chances like against Bournemouth and Liverpool, that distorted the defence massively.

Then you take into account his summer signing Mikel Merino has been out for large chunks, while Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli have all had their injury problems. Ultimately it means we’re yet to see plan A for Arteta.

On Sunday we got a brief glimpse. Minus maybe Riccardo Calafiori this was a first choice line up for Arsenal and it looked pretty good. If Saka and Rice had been able to finish the game it may have looked even better. That is what Arteta will hope will be in store after the international break.

He looks likely to do all he can to make that happen. The Spaniard was talking up Saka and Rice’s injuries after the pair were called up for England. He was also non-committal on whether Martin Odegaard will go away with Norway. It’s safe to say, he’s desperate for as close to a fully fit squad as possible.