Darren Bent would ‘still have’ Martin Odegaard ahead of Manchester United ace Bruno Fernandes, despite the Arsenal captain leaving him ‘screaming at the TV’ this season.
The Gunners-supporting former Tottenham Hotspur forward admits that Odegaard has irked him at times this season. But Bent is adamant that the Arsenal midfielder is still the superior playmaker over Fernandes. So, he would favour the 25-year-old, despite his drop-off in form.
Odegaard has not had the same impact so far this term that the Norway skipper delivered at Emirates Stadium last season. He ended the 2022/23 campaign as Arsenal’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League beside Gabriel Martinelli on 15 goals. Yet he only has four in 2023/24.
Martin Odegaard trumps Bruno Fernandes for Premier League goal involvements
Odegaard also offered eight assists across 37 top-flight appearances last term to his four in 17 so far this season. He only missed one game during 2022/23 due to a calf issue. But Mikel Arteta has been without his captain in three games this term after he suffered a concussion.
Fernandes, meanwhile, has offered Manchester United three goals and three assists over 19 Premier League games in 2023/24. The 29-year-old also only penned eight goals and eight assists in 37 outings last term. So, his numbers are inferior to Odegaard’s over both seasons.
Darren Bent ‘still’ picks the Arsenal captain over the Manchester United skipper
Yet, despite Fernandes’ inferior output to Odegaard, Bent admitting his frustrations with the Arsenal captain led Andy Goldstein to ‘honestly’ say he would favour the Manchester United captain. But Bent still backs the Drammen native as the better playmaker between the pair.
“Why won’t Odegaard shoot?” Bent asked on talkSPORT. “The amount of times he’s on the edge of the box. Why doesn’t he shoot more? There’s a few times they work it to the edge of the box and I’m screaming at the TV, ‘Shoot!’, and he tries a little pass or a little dink.”
To which, Goldstein replied: “He’s not as good as he was [last season]. But Bent bit back, adding: “I’d still have him over Bruno, though. I’ll tell you that. I would.”
Bent and Goldstein clashed on Odegaard after the ex-Sunderland striker bemoaned his miss in Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Liverpool. The 55-cap international rattled Alisson Becker’s bar on 11 minutes after Reiss Nelson failed to connect with Kai Havertz’s cutback inside the box.
Odegaard has attempted 52 shots through his 25 appearances in all competitions so far this season for Arsenal, per WhoScored. He has also taken 27 of those attempts from outside of the area to 25 inside the box. But, as Bent suggests, Odegaard could have taken even more.
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