Arsenal must regret selling £27m “difference maker”

If there was any positivity left surrounding Arsenal’s domestic campaign heading into this weekend, then there certainly isn’t anymore.

Mikel Arteta’s side had a real chance to close the gap on Liverpool atop the Premier League by beating West Ham United on Saturday afternoon, but instead, they capitulated and fell to a 1-0 defeat.

It was one of the Gunners’ worst performances of the season, and while injuries certainly played a part in that, those on the pitch were dire.

There were poor performances across the board from the hosts, but Martin Odegaard once again stood out for all the wrong reasons, and the manager must be regretting his decision to sell someone who’s now outperforming him in the league.

Odegaard’s dismal campaign

At the end of last season, Odegaard was named the club’s Player of the Year for the second campaign on the bounce, and there was a real sense that he might be able to finally lead the club over the line this year.

Unfortunately, the incredible midfielder of the last two campaigns has simply not turned up this year.

While his ankle sprain has likely played a significant role in his poor form, he’s been back fit for long enough now and continues to disappoint.

In all, the Norwegian international has racked up a rather paltry haul of two goals and three assists in 18 league games this season, totalling 1469 minutes, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 3.6 games, but also every 293.8 minutes.

Moreover, his overall tally of three goals and six assists in 27 games isn’t much better, especially when he’s supposed to be the team’s main creative force in the middle of the park.

Worse yet, there has been a feeling among some fans that he’s gone missing in big games this season, with the defeat on the weekend another case of that.

For example, football.london’s Tom Canton gave him a 4/10 match rating at full-time and wrote that the 26-year-old ‘simply didn’t’ stand up as the leader on the pitch.

In all, while he has shown himself to be an incredibly talented footballer in seasons prior, Odegaard has simply not been good enough this year.

That is a situation made all the more frustrating by the fact that a former Arsenal player sold by Arteta is outperforming the former Real Madrid wonderkid in the Premier League this season.

The former Arsenal star outperforming Odegaard this season

On top of not making a single permanent attacking addition to the team over the summer, Arsenal decided to sell several players who could make a difference in the middle and final thirds, including Emile Smith Rowe.

The Hale End graduate was a firm favourite at the Emirates, but after missing a lot of game time through injury and then losing his place in the team, the club decided to sell him to Fulham for a pretty decent fee of around £27m without add-ons.

However, while the money certainly wasn’t bad, we reckon Arteta and Co would much rather have the player back at the moment, as while he hasn’t been world-class this season, he has been undeniably effective for the Cottagers, and as things stand is comfortably outperforming Odegaard in the Premier League.

For example, the 24-year-old “difference-maker,” as dubbed by Mesut Özil, has scored five goals and provided two assists in 24 games this season, totalling just 1589 minutes.

That means the Croydon-born ace has averaged a goal involvement every 3.42 games, or every 227 games, which, for a team like Fulham, who are fighting outside the European places at the moment, is really quite impressive.

Moreover, when he is on the pitch at the moment, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who’d accuse him of disappearing or hiding.

Ultimately, Odegaard is an undeniably talented footballer and may well get back to his very best next year, but this season, he has been underwhelming at best, so we can’t help but imagine Arsenal massively regret the decision to sell Smith Rowe in the summer.