Arsenal are winless in their last three Premier League games with questions asked about their finishing capabilities; Martin Odegaard has set up 19 attacks for the Gunners, who have not scored from any of them; Arsenal captain is creating top chances, but his team-mates are wasteful
@SamBIitz
Wednesday 3 January 2024 14:08, UK
Most games, you can spot Martin Odegaard geeing up his Arsenal team. The Gunners captain shakes one hand in the air, asking for more noise from the stands, demanding more pressure on the opposition goal from his team-mates.
It feels the like role of an orchestra conductor, only it's a footballer in the middle of a Premier League pitch. And that metaphor is in line with Odegaard's role in this team.
Odegaard is at the heart of most Arsenal attacks — he has the most passes that have led to shots in the Premier League this season, while only Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah have been involved in more attacking sequences to result in shots.
The vast majority of those Odegaard passes are 'secondary shot assists' — the pass before the pass that leads to the shot. And they have been crucial for Arsenal this term.
Arsenal's winning goals away at Everton and Brentford came from the Norwegian's 'second assists'. These passes also gave Arsenal the lead early on against Tottenham and Bournemouth. Odegaard's key ball to open up the play against Brighton gave his side their result-sealing second goal through Kai Havertz to pick up an important win.
But now Arsenal are stumbling. Back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham have derailed the Gunners' title bid. There's an argument they should have also picked up three points in the draw at Liverpool before Christmas, given the chances they had at Anfield.
Yet
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