Ex-Arsenal man not worried by Odegaard’s ‘small dip’ in form as Arteta is told his ‘best midfield trio’
Mikael Silvestre is not worried by Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s “small dip” in form and believes the Gunners are “equipped” to win the Premier League.
Odegaard has not been at his scintillating best this season, though Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta recently admitted the Norwegian playmaker has been nursing a hip problem.
He has one goal from open play in nine appearances in the Premier League this season, netting from the penalty spot in wins over Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
Overall, Odegaard has five goals and one assist in 15 appearances across all competitions in 2023/24.
Despite “a small dip” in form, Silvestre has backed the Gunners midfielder to bounce back.
“I think it’s just a small dip for Odegaard,” the former Arsenal defender told bettingexpert.com. “He’s scored goals, he’s assisted.
“It’s just a little dip in form and he has the mental ability to come back to his best and be the leader for this season for Arsenal.”
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Silvestre continued: “[Thomas] Partey, [Declan] Rice and Odegaard are the best midfield trio for Arsenal. They compliment each other because they all have different qualities.
“In midfield, you can respond to a lot of different situations with these three players.”
Silvestre then said Arsenal have been lacking creativity this season and attributed that to teams figuring out how to “control the space” occupied by Odegaard and Arteta’s two wingers, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
“I don’t think there’s a specific reason for the lack of creativity,” the Frenchman said.
“Teams are finding ways to control the space that Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli like to occupy.
“Arsenal still have the quality but teams are defending better and paying attention to what Arsenal are throwing to them.
“Arsenal can create on the counter attack but struggle against the lower block.”
Despite their “lack of creativity”, Aarsenal are “equipped” to win the Premier League this season.
“Maybe it is better for Arsenal to start this way and finish stronger,” Silvestre added. “Because the ‘money time’ is March/April. That’s when [Manchester] City will be there. They’ll respond to this pressure and they will get points with the squad they’ve got, when other teams are getting tired.
“So Arsenal needs to stay in the race. It doesn’t matter how. Newcastle was a tough game. They lost but the margin was very thin.
“I think quality wise, they are still equipped to reach the objective this season.”
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