Arsenal are at risk of seeing the 2024/25 season fall apart following the 1-0 Premier League defeat to West Ham on Saturday at Emirates Stadium. After his brace off the bench against Leicester City, Mikel Merino started up top but the problems the club face in attack were still clear to see.
Mikel Arteta was just able to cope without Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka, but that injury list doubled very quickly. Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz became the chosen front three, however the latter duo are now unavailable.
Ethan Nwaneri stepped up to the plate last weekend but Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, as the club’s senior leaders, need to show more after putting in disappointing displays against the Hammers.
Odegaard issue
On Saturday, Odegaard had 93 touches, three shots, was fouled twice and created four chances, according to FotMob, and yet it would have been easy to forget he was on the pitch. The Arsenal captain was clearly involved judging by those stats, but decisive actions in the final third were missing and have been for some time.
When he returned from injury earlier in the season, Odegaard looked exceptional and helped the Gunners score 14 goals in four games, but his impact has worn off recently. An urgent meeting with Arteta looks needed to try and help get him back to his best now he has been at the club since 2021 after being signed for £30million.
