Mikel Arteta has been urged to not rush Martin Odegaard back into the starting lineup for Arsenal’s trip to Brentford despite his looming return to full fitness.
The Arsenal skipper has been out of motion since his shiny cameo appearance off the bench against Leeds United at the top of January.
Odegaard has missed Arsenal’s last two matches, despite the difficulty only being described as a ‘niggle’ by Arteta, but could now return on Thursday against Brentford within the Premier League.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Arteta refuted suggestions that Odegaard could miss the sport, telling reporters: ‘I didn’t say that.’
A possible return for Odegaard would only strengthen Arteta’s options in central midfield, but former Gunners star Nigel Winterburn sees no reason to rush the 27-year-old straight back into the team.
Odegaard’s attacking output has dropped off this season, with only one goal and 4 assists in his 18 league appearances, and Winterburn thinks Kai Havertz has earned the appropriate to maintain his spot in midfield after his performances since coming back from a long-term injury of his own.
‘We’ve seen Havertz come back and he’s done thoroughly,’ he told Metro via Zamsino NZ.
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‘How much game time does a manager want to offer him in a brief time period after nearly a yr out is an issue.
‘Odegaard could come back in there, Eze could come back in there. So, it’s such a difficult query to reply as to who should start.
‘Odegaard is the captain, but I still don’t think that’s going to offer him the appropriate to come back straight back into the team when he’s fit, and I feel he should need to wait his turn.’
A return for Odegaard, nevertheless, could see Eberechi Eze drop further down the pecking order in the case of Arsenal’s options in midfield.
Eze’s last league start got here in a narrow win against Wolves in mid-December, with the Englishman’s substitute appearances amounting to only 92 minutes of league motion because the turn of the yr.
Asked about Eze’s concerning lack of minutes, Winterburn challenged the 27-year-old to demand more of the ball and be less ‘laid-back’ when given the chance to impress off the bench.
‘From now to the top of the season, I’d think Eze goes to get loads of game time,’ he said. ‘He’s a player I actually like.
‘He’s now at an enormous club when it comes to expectation, and he, Havertz, and Odegaard are battling to be in the identical position.
‘The one thing I’d say is Odegaard’s all energy. Eze looks a bit bit more laid back with the way in which, the style he plays.
‘But when he gets that chance, when he comes on or if he starts, I’d similar to to see him a bit more demanding of the ball within the creative areas and really showing us what we all know he can do.
‘He’s got lovely close control, can pick a pass, can rating goals. Although we don’t wish to say it, sometimes, while you sign players, you give them as much as a yr to completely settle in.
‘We would like everyone to hit the bottom running and show us exactly what they’ve got. But Mikel Arteta’s style is a high-intensity press.
‘It’s an enormous amount of workload on the players, and Eze’s just got to adapt to that situation.’
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