Martin Ødegaard vs Eibar & What does this mean for Arsenal

One of Martin Ødegaard’s finest displays for Real Sociedad was against Eibar at home on the 30th of November 2019. He was deployed as an RCM in a 4-3-3, although he had the license to roam, much more than Igor Zubeldia or Mikel Merino received. I’ll take a look at the game broken down in 4 chunks, touching upon how he did overall and how he will benefit Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side.

The Numbers:

90 minutes played

85 touches

1 Goal

1 Assist

6 Key passes

2 Big chances created

3/4 Crosses completed

3/3 Long balls completed

50/61 Passes completed

8/11 Duels won

10 Shot Creating actions

73 Carries/9 Progressive Carries

Minute 1-24
At the start of the game, Ødegaard was able to get himself involved in the play slowly, getting the ball a few times & misplacing two passes before the 4th minute. That's not an issue as it's just him getting more involved in the game, and it worked well in the long run. He would drop deeper to allow Zaldua and Elustondo to give them an extra man to help in the buildup, something he did consistently until he tired out. 

Once Elustondo got Injured with Le Normand replacing him in the 9th minute, Ødegaard started to drift wide more frequently once Le Normand was progressing the ball. In the 11th minute, Ødegaard went to the left where Mikel Oyarzabal was and got the ball quickly back to the right-hand side to isolate Portu with the opposition fullback. Portu failed to capitalize. It just showed how well Ødegaard could drift into spaces between the opposition LB-LCB to help out at any given moment. 

Transition opportunity created through Ødegaard’s willingness to play 1 touch passes.

Ødegaard is capable of getting the ball to the attackers quickly on transition with either foot. He did just this during the 20th & 21st minute where Zaldua passed the ball to Ødegaard he then played it to Portu right after (as shown in the image above.) It is a minor event as the attack fizzled out and led to nothing, but It’s something he does consistently, this will help Arsenal out a lot, and prevent them from recycling the ball between their CM’s & FB’s endlessly. 

Minute 25-45:

He was able to assist Le Normand on the 25th minute. After being given a freekick outside the box on the right-hand side, he was able to find Le Normand who headed the ball into the net. His Set Pieces are a strong part of his game, with his freekicks ending up mainly at the heads or feet of those in his team. Those do rely on those in the box, with players with good movement being able to thrive because of how well Ødegaard is at finding pockets of space in set-pieces.

Ødegaard gets into a fair amount of shooting positions, which happen as a result of the moves that he starts. In the 32nd minute, he picked up the ball from deep and got it to Portu who went on a run which led to nothing. This isn’t special by any means, but something worth looking at as he likes to create openings for himself and take risks in situations where other attacking midfielders wouldn’t want to do so. 

Ødegaard creating space for himself.

He was able to find a lot of space in this passage of play, especially in the 36th minute via a throw-in, shown by the picture above. Zaldua found it hard to get the ball to Ødegaard as 3/4 opposition players were surrounding him. The way he got out of it was to get close to Zaldua, receive the ball, play it back to Zaldua and for Zaldua to play it into open space that the Eibar midfielders failed to occupy. The result was a failed final third pass by Ødegaard, but it shows that his idea is there. He knows what he wants to do with the ball once he receives it. 

Minute 45-60:

Oyarzabal’s goal.

Early on the second half, Martin Ødegaard was able to combine very well with Portu, getting the ball to him from the right, who then switched the play (with some help with the defenders head) and set up Mikel Oyarzabal to score the 2nd goal for Real Sociedad of the night. The right-hand side dynamic is something Arsenal have had an issue with as of late, players don’t tend to gel too well there because of how Ceballos has had to play there (who prefers playing the ball to the left) and because of the unavailability of a player to connect the RB, RCM & RW. Martin Ødegaard is there to fix that, and arguably he’ll do a much better job there with Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey & Cedric Soares/Hector Bellerin being an upgrade on Portu & Zaldua.

Getting out of tight situations is Ødegaard’s bread and butter. In the 51st minute, he was able to recover a stray ball and dribble himself away from 3 opposition players before playing it deep. I remember Thomas Partey doing something similar to this against Southampton in the FA Cup on the defensive third, and it’s a trait that’s invaluable to have. It allows for new avenues to be opened, and it declutters a part of the pitch that a player might want to be utilised better (as Ødegaard did right there.)

The third goal for Sociedad was scored by Willian Jose. Which happened due to a corner involving Martin Ødegaard. In the 56th minute, Real Sociedad hit Eibar on transition, Ødegaard controlled a slightly misplaced pass and took a deflected shot. He then took the corner, played it short, with a Nacho Monreal delivery into the box being cleared. Llorente played it into the path of Jose who then scored. Ødegaard is willing to take shots more often than other players. It’ll make Arsenal more unpredictable in the final third. A huge positive for them.

Minute 61-90:
His pressing is remarkable, in the 63rd minute, the opposition were looking to use combination play to bypass the right-hand side of La Real, the persistence of Martin Ødegaard stopped it from happening. Ødegaard attempted 14 pressures that day, with 3 regains. Compared to how he usually is, that's quite conservative which bodes well for Arsenal as he is someone who knows when to press and conserve his energy.

He had a freekick far from goal in the 71st minute which he was able to trouble the opposition keeper. The freekick just showed how he’s adept at taking freekicks from both sides of the pitch with better accuracy even though he is better suited as a right-sided freekick taker instead of a left-sided one. Allowing him to take freekicks resolves a freekick dilemma Arsenal have suffered ever since Nico Pépé has had far fewer minutes in the league as Willian & David Luiz (the normal choices) aren’t good freekick takers. 

Martin Ødegaard’s goal in 4 pictures.

Martin Ødegaard’s goal was a thing of beauty. Scored in the 79th minute as a result of an Ødegaard continued attack, he released the ball to Portu quickly, who dwelled on the ball, cutting it back for Ødegaard to score from outside the box (which is illustrated by the picture above.) This is the type of goal that is repeatable with a good relationship with the RW as Ødegaard has with Portu and something that I see happening quite a fair amount at Arsenal if he develops a relationship with Saka or Pépé

Martin Ødegaard had dropped off in terms of how much he did complete due to fitness reasons. He started to tire out after the 83rd minute, with his involvement being quite minimal after that time. That’s not something problematic considering fitness is easily improvable, and he can rotate with Emile Smith Rowe at Arsenal. Also, the demands of an RCM is much more daunting than the demands for an attacking midfielder most of the time, which is why It’s something to look out for but not necessarily to worry about.

General thoughts:

Martin Ødegaard had a great game as an RCM against Eibar. If I wanted to show someone a game that summed Ødegaard up perfectly, this would be a game I would recommend someone to watch. He’s able to drop deep, and create space for himself and those around him very well. A lot of what he does helps the team as he loves to drag the opposition out of the game, be it through his off the ball movement or through his dribbling.

What does this mean for Arsenal?

This display is good news for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta did an interview a few months ago where he said that he wanted to work towards a 4-3-3 for the club, and loaning Martin Ødegaard would facilitate such a move in the short term.. He is more comfortable playing as a number 10, where he has performed better than he did in a 4-3-3, but football is never that absolute. Mikel Arteta could very easily opt to play a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 with Ødegaard occupying the right halfspace, with a change in formation depending on the game state. He just needs to allow Ødegaard to build a relationship with Thomas Partey, Bukayo Saka/Nico Pépé and whoever he thinks is best to be Arsenal’s right back to see out this season.

Written by Harry (@RunReissRun)