Who should step up for Odegaard?
- Published
Who will step up as playmaker in Martin Odegaard's absence?
That is one of the questions submitted via the 'Ask about Arsenal' form, after the Arsenal captain suffered a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee.
Odegaard has already missed four games this season with a shoulder injury and it was Mikel Merino who replaced him for three of those games.
The Spaniard played alongside Declan Rice with Martin Zubimendi sat behind them, a move that made them defensively stronger, but perhaps at the expense of creativity.
Merino has made 27 forward passes this season in six Premier League appearances and created two chances, according to Opta.
That is better than Eberechi Eze's 14 forward passes and one chance created. The England international, however, has completed more passes into the final third [23] than Merino [22] despite playing the same amount of games.
Summer signing Eze seems the most obvious choice of replacement on paper because he has mainly played as a number eight since making the switch from Crystal Palace.
He might have only created one chance, but he has impressed with his pace and tenacity when called upon to impact games.
But if Arteta wants a like-for-like replacement then left-footed Ethan Nwaneri is the player he could turn to.
Despite breaking through the senior team as Bukayo Saka's replacement last season, he is widely regarded as a central midfielder rather than a wide option.
However, for that reason, minutes for the 18-year-old have been hard to come by this term and he has been an unused substitute in four of Arsenal's nine opening fixtures.
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