Odegaard arrived, but will he play for Arsenal?

Real Madrid’s midfielder Martin Odegaard arrived in Arsenal and everybody is happy: Mikel Arteta, Edu, the player himself, and even Zinedine Zidan. And why? Well, Arteta is happy because he got a creative midfielder which he needed since he froze out Ozil, Edu is happy because he delivered what was asked of him, and even ZiZu is happy, because he loaned out his big talent, but will get him back (just like Ceballos) since no future buyout clause hasn’t been agreed. And of course, the player himself is the happiest one of them all, since he got his wish – to be loaned out in order to play regularly.

But, will he play regularly in Arsenal? That is the ultimate question.

First of all, Odegaard has immense talent, but he went on loans before and wasn’t so successful as people think. Now he is coming into one of the toughest leagues in the world, in a club that is fighting for a Europa League spot to be a regular starter. If he is going to be a substitution, why did he leave Real in the first place? If he came to Arsenal a month earlier or if he came to, for example, Leeds, or Newcastle or Aston Villa, he would play 90 minutes every game. A month ago, Gunners couldn’t defeat anybody and were on the wrong end of the Premier League table, but now, they have found their confidence and rhythm, and they even have their much-needed creativity. They found it among their own ranks, and the man is Emile Smith Rowe. He has played very well so far, in fact so good, that the manager had to be clear that he won’t be able to play every single match at the end of the season, and that’s where Odegaard comes in.

But, if he plays, were will he be lined up in the starting XI?

First of all, like every other great player, Odegaard can play anywhere in the middle, but he’s the best position would be a creative midfielder playing behind the striker (like Smith Rowe), or on both flanks. The first, and mostly used Arteta’s formation with Arsenal is 4-2-3-1, and he recently had success with it, so it’s reasonable to believe that he will stick with it for some time. In that formation (or any formation that is), Partley and Xhaka are irreplaceable, and if you count in-form Saka and Aubameyang on the wings, it is clear that Odegaard can only play behind Lacazette, the same position as Smith Rowe. In a possible 4-3-3 formation, he would line up in central midfield with Xhaka, while Partley would stay behind as a ball-winning midfielder. He would have to play much as a box-to-box midfielder and in an intense league, like Premier, he would have a lot of defensive tasks too. Arteta could also move Smith Rowe to the left-wing, where he played well, but the Spaniard admitted himself that it’s not the player's best position, and that would also mean that he would have to drop out either Saka or Lacazette, who are both playing well and scoring goals.

So, it will go down as a shootout between Smith Rowe and Odegaard. In that battle, Smith Rowe is the clear winner, since he is tied to a long term contract, while the Norwegian isn’t. Luckily for the Real Madrid loanee, Smith Rowe is currently injured, so he is sure to get back into the squad, although the Man United match will probably prove too risky for the debut. When Smith Rowe gets back, it will definitely be the case who was better at the training during the week. Odegaard surely has to show his big talent and show it fast, otherwise, he will remain on the Arsenal bench until June.