Martin Odegaard is suffering more than any other Arsenal player due to the club’s lack of centre-forward, with his emergence as a scapegoat for some fans following the Gunners’ 1-0 Champions League loss at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evidence of this.
While Mikel Merino has had the chance to earn a certain cult status with his cameos in attack, the real burden of expectation has fallen on the shoulders of the Arsenal captain, who is taking one for the team with the criticism targeted at him currently.
The numbers the Norway international posted against PSG were indeed bleak. As the playmaker, for instance, he completed just 21 passes over the course of the match and was successful in just one of his six take-ons.
There are a heap of stats from the game that Odegaard will not be proud of, and it’s hard to argue the case that he was anything but a passenger as Bukayo Saka carried much of what potency Arsenal showed.
Martin Odegaard vs PSG
| Minutes | 89 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Touches | 40 |
| Passes Completed | 24 |
| Take-ons: Successful/Attempted | 1/6 |
Fingers are now starting to get pointed at Odegaard for not contributing enough this season as a whole. He has, after all, just two Premier League goals for the season. The 26-year-old averages 10 per campaign since arriving at the club permanently in 2021, he is going to come up short of that expectation.
In terms of assists, though, his absolute figure is a relatively modest six but when an allowance for a lack of minutes is made, this could be his best season since arriving at Arsenal.
Martin Odegaard: It’s not all about his goals
Odegaard is enjoying another spectacular campaign, despite not getting the headline-grabbing goals expected of him.
Data analytics experts SciSports rate Odegaard as the fifth-strongest central midfielder in the Premier League this season, with his statistical numbers demonstrating that he remains a creative monster in terms of what he gives to his team.
Odegaard vs Premier League midfielders: Overall performance (2024/25)
Odegaard’s Premier League season in stats
With an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €125.8 million, he is the seventh most valuable player in the world and second in the Premier League.
Arsenal’s situation currently, though, is such that his strengths cannot be fully explored. Throw a dangerous predator – a Viktor Gyokeres, for instance – and watch him thrive.
Yes, his performance against PSG was not up to standard, but he is still performing to an exceptional standard, which will become more apparent when Arsenal land the centre-forward they so obviously need in the summer.
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