Ian Wright explains exactly why Martin Odegaard has been struggling for Arsenal recently

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Legendary former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has now explained why Martin Odegaard is struggling to produce his best on the pitch.

Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard was slammed by the press for his recent Champions League display against Sevilla. The 24-year-old was also below par against Chelsea last time out in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta is hugely reliant on Odegaard. The Norwegian midfielder is a tactical leader for Arsenal on the pitch, responsible for orchestrating the press of opposition defenders. He is also the Gunners’ chief creator, and so much of the north London club’s build up play is designed to be channeled through him.

It is, therefore, a major concern to see the former Real Madrid man struggling to stamp his authority on matches in the manner we have become so familiar with.

Ian Wright, reflecting on the midfielder’s difficult outing against Sevilla, believes that opponents are now specifically targeting Odegaard. 

Speaking on his Wrighty’s House podcast, the Arsenal icon said, “it wasn’t a great game for our captain, he was thinking he would get the space in the midfield to turn and do a bit…I have to say Boubakary Soumare on loan from Leicester was really good, he really stifled out Martin Odegaard.”

Martin Odegaard must overcome being targeted

It would make sense if teams coming up against Arsenal were taking extra measures to try and negate Odegaard’s influence. The £240,000-a-week star must find a way to counterattack this extra attention that is being paid to him. He may have to shake up his usual patterns of movement in order to catch his opponents by surprise.

The Gunners certainly can’t afford for him to struggle for long. Whilst the likes of Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, or Emile Smith Rowe could take his place in the starting XI, that would not be an ideal solution.

Odegaard and his teammates need to focus on engineering new ways for him to discover space on the pitch and impact matches. Arteta’s side will never be at their absolute best without an in-form Odegaard on the pitch.