Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Ian Wright has made an interesting claim regarding Martin Odegaard, and why he thinks the Norwegian has suffered a dip in form recently.
Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Wright speculated that Odegaard may have returned too soon from his ankle injury, and doing so has hindered his performances. He said,
“I think you made a good point, right, about him coming back maybe earlier than he should have. Simply because of, when you watch him, especially in, whether it was the Newcastle or Tottenham game, and he looks, when he goes down, he’s staying down a little bit longer.
“He’s not, he’s not right. And I’ll tell you what it makes me worry about is, I know that Saka had an operation, so he’s going to take longer. But I worry that they will be doing the same thing, rushing him through.”
Wright made a great point about the Gunners potentially being in a position to rush Saka back when he is nearing full fitness, and it remains to be seen how they handle that situation.
Leaving squads short: The age-old Arsenal tale
Arsenal’s previous managers, too, had to endure seeing their squad just that one or two players short from what they wished for, and what they hoped would win league titles and other silverware for the club. However, yet again, an Arsenal manager is hung out to dry by a board who is unwilling to recruit players.
In the current scenario, the club is facing an unprecedented injury crisis in the span of Arteta’s tenure. To make matters worse, two key players Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka picked up long-term injuries in the middle of the campaign. While Wright speculated Odegaard has been rushed, the same has been seen several times in the past.
Players like Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez, have all been rushed back from injuries because the team looked like a shadow of itself without the main guys. To prevent such a drastic drop in performances, the club will have to recruit smarter to avoid a repeat of such scenarios.
