Martin Keown has suggested that Martin Odegaard was being ignored by his Arsenal teammates against Benfica last night, as quoted in The Daily Mail.
The Arsenal legend, who now works as a pundit for BT SportS, has noted a moment in the game when right-back Hector Bellerin did not pass Odegaard the ball despite the Real Madrid-owned attacking midfielder being in a good position.
Keown has added that the Arsenal players should give the 22-year-old Norway international – who joined the Gunners on loan from Madrid in the January transfer window – the ball more often so that he can create problems for the opposition defence.
The Daily Mail quotes Keown as saying while describing the situation where Bellerin did not pass Odegaard the ball: “Here he [Odegaard] is, in acres of space [screaming for the ball], is this a status thing? Because the club has lost [Mesut] Ozil who was really good in that type of position who would have demanded it. This player needs to do something similar.
“And in that central position, if he gets it, he can be really creative. That’s just decision making. You want to get him on the ball.
“I think that’s why Arteta wants him in there but you’ve got to keep feeding him. And when Arsenal learn to do that it will become second nature.”
How did Martin Odegaard play against Benfica?
Odegaard is starting to play well for Arsenal, and the signs are very positive indeed for the youngster.
The Norway international was not exactly at his best against Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday evening, but he dd have a good game overall.
The youngster was heavily involved in the goal that Arsenal scored and created another good chance for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
According to WhoScored, the Norway international attacking midfielder played two key passes, had a pass accuracy of 91.5%, won one header, took 67 touches, attempted one dribble, made three tackles, and put in three crosses.
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