Ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas says he has been disappointed with the form of captain Martin Odegaard in recent months.
The Gunners have lost their position at the top of the Premier League since Christmas and Gallas told the Gambling Zone that the club have encountered problems when their talisman has not been at his best:
“I was speaking about Odegaard, who is so talented and his technique is unbelievable. But if he’s not on the level we expect him to be, it looks like the team doesn’t play well.”
“It’s not only Odegaard though, he’s not the only one, but I don’t think he’s been at the level he needs to be at.”
Odegaard’s form has been inconsistent
There is no doubting the fact that the Norwegian international has struggled more with consistency this season. 7 goals and 4 assists in 26 appearances is not a bad return whatsoever. However, he has only managed 1 goal in the league since the end of September.
Odegaard has had a hip injury and suffered a concussion which affected his performances from late October to November but, since then, he has been fully fit, and he hasn’t really been able to reproduce the levels that saw him score 15 times last campaign.
Arsenal have a number of players out of sorts
As Gallas points out, it’s not fair to single out only Odegaard. Gabriel Martinelli has notably struggled to find the back of the net this season, while neither Bukayo Saka nor Gabriel Jesus have contributed as much as hoped either.
There is also an argument that Mikel Arteta’s side are missing the influence of Granit Xhaka. Playing in the ‘Advanced 8’ role last campaign, the Swiss international linked up play between midfield and attack. Kai Havertz has so far not been able to replicate what Xhaka brought to the team.
