Despite Arsenal sitting at the top of the Premier League, there is one point of criticism that has attracted plenty of attention. Whilst their 2022/23 campaign was characterised by a dazzling attack, the 2023/24 season has seen it get off to a slow start.
In many games this season Arsenal have struggled to generate chances. Of their ten Premier League wins, six have been by a margin of one goal. However, Saturday’s victory against Wolves (one of these six) played out very differently.
It was not a lack of creation but poor finishing which created the narrow margin. A welcome difference, much of this can be explained by a change in role for Martin Ødegaard.
Until this game, it had been a strange start for Arsenal’s club captain. In the majority of games Ødegaard found himself incredibly high up the pitch, getting into spaces already occupied by Bukayo Saka and Arsenal’s striker of the day.
The impression given was that this was a player fixated on goals. Instead of contributing in the build-up, the Norwegian was looking for a chance to get a shot off. Now, you can see where the temptation to do this came from. Ødegaard racked up 15 goals in the league last season, and is a much more dangerous shot-taker than he was in his first year or so at the club.
The problem with this is it left a vacuum both physically and technically in the centre of the pitch. In having a central midfielder stay so high up, you create a hole in the middle of the team.
What this means is that the other two members of Arsenal’s midfield three have to pick up the burden in terms of progressing the ball up the pitch. In this respect, Arsenal have had to get used to some personnel changes from last season. Both Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey were incredibly comfortable when it comes to receiving the ball deep and looking to pass forward.
In terms of style, Arsenal’s options of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Fabio Vieira are different. Rice is a fantastic carrier of the ball, but someone like Havertz is not the ideal player for building play with the ball at his feet. In essence, Arsenal are dealing with the teething issues of a new-look midfield.
What changed on Saturday was that Ødegaard dropped deep when Arsenal had possession. In terms of skillset, he is the perfect player for this kind of role. Comfortable in tight spaces and on the turn, Ødegaard is highly gifted when it comes to picking the ball up and playing it to a teammate further up the pitch.
As well as coming closer to receive from the defence, this also extended to playing deeper when the ball entered the opposition half. Instead of drifting too high or wide, Ødegaard did the majority of his work in the centre of the pitch.
Despite the fact he picked up a goal (a trademark edge of the box finish), the biggest standout was the work he did at breaking down Wolves’ defence. The numbers support this, with StatsBomb finding that Ødegaard’s 17 line-breaking passes in the opposition’s half were the most in a PL game this season. As a midfielder, one of his greatest strengths is his ability to construct an attack from deep.
A final benefit is perhaps to be found with Bukayo Saka. Whilst Ødegaard and Saka have a fantastic relationship on the pitch, they often want to take up the same spaces. Against many of the low blocks that Arsenal face, this leads to Saka finding himself surrounded by defenders and teammates alike. In using Ødegaard slightly deeper, Saka will be afforded more space as well as a midfielder highly capable of getting the ball to him.
Martin Ødegaard has all the passes and body feints necessary to take full creative control of this Arsenal midfield. With questions raised about Arsenal’s ability to create, don’t be surprised if Arsenal’s captain is the man with the answers.
