There’s been some debate of late over who should play for Arsenal out of Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard but Dennis Bergkamp thinks there could be room for both.
Eze and Odegaard are both attack-minded players in the main and Mikel Arteta has often gone with one or the other this season.
Eze, of course, scored twice against Tottenham recently while Odegaard has – according to many – failed to hit the heights of previous years.
👀 Will Eberechi Eze surpass Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s tally when Arsenal face Chelsea?
Dennis Bergkamp, though, feels both can play together in the right situation.
Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard can play together, says Dennis Bergkamp
If there’s a player in Arsenal’s history who knows how to play in that number ten role that Eze and Odegaard love so much then it’s Dennis Bergkamp.
His partnerships with the likes of Ian Wright and Thierry Henry are the stuff of legend and he’s well placed to have a view. Indeed, Bergkamp believes both Eze and Odegaard can produce if paired together.
“Yeah, it’s always difficult, it seems like only one of them can play,” Bergkamp commented on the Joel Beya YouTube show.
“So, you have to pick one and then you change them for the other one. I’m always in favor of playing your best players and they will fit in somewhere.
“Especially because they could complement each other as well. Yeah. If you’re brave and you put them in, they can really boost your attack in some way. It’s a bit more risk going backwards defending, but going forward it could be something special.”
READ MORE:
Arsenal’s record when Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze have played together
It’s very rare we see Mikel Arteta start both players and over the course of the season, they’ve often either replaced one or another or featured if the other is injured.
In fact, Odegaard and Eze have only played 14 times together with eight of those coming from the start.
In those appearances, Arsenal have won seven times, drawn four and lost three games. In a way, that shows that the pairing doesn’t really work, with the Gunners needing to not be losing games as they chase the title.
🔮 Which stage of the Champions League will Arsenal reach?
Ultimately, this is for Mikel Arteta to fathom and as Bergkamp says, it probably can work at times.
But in the main, team balance and shape is more important and unfortunately, both Eze and Odegaard don’t bring the defensive side of proceedings to the table.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
