Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard embarrassed as Mikel Arteta’s top transfer target revealed
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Arsenal star Martin Odegaard was unable to help the Gunners advance in the Champions League (Image: Getty)
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been warned that he falls into the category below players who provide an “X-Factor” contribution in the biggest games. Odegaard was unable to drag Arsenal over the line as they succumbed to a Champions League quarter-final defeat against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Joshua Kimmich scored the game’s only goal, securing a 3-2 aggregate triumph. While Wright has been impressed with the Norwegian’s recent form, including in last weekend’s defeat by Aston Villa, he pointed out that other players had a bigger impact on their Champions League ties.
The 60-year-old highlighted Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha as a player who can affect games. “A player like Vitinha at Paris Saint-Germain.
You know when you watch a team and you think: ‘You know, he might do something’,” the former Arsenal striker said on his Wrighty’s House podcast. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been warned that he does not have enough ‘X-Factor’ players (Image: Getty) “The first half [Odegaard produced] against Villa was one of the best performances I’ve seen from him for a long time and he’s been playing very well this season.
[But] I’m talking about someone with that bit of X-factor that we need. We’ve got a load of good players.”
Wright believes Arsenal need a player who can take advantage of rare opportunities in tight games.
The Gunners have now been knocked out of the Champions League and seen their hopes of winning the Premier League falter in the space of a week. Against Bayern, they lacked a star able to turn a cagey affair in their favor.
Three days prior, they drew a blank against Villa and relinquished their place at the top of the league. Wright continued: “X-Factor like out of the blue, bam, he’ll do something like that.
We need that, we need to find that, man, because that’s what wins these games as well. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.
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“If people ain’t got the mindset to know that: ‘Listen, this is a half-chance game for me’… “I played against Des Walker, I played against Manchester United, I know I’m not getting a lot of chances so I’m going to focus on the one half-chance. That’s the mentality that’s got to come.”
Arsenal’s only chance of a trophy this season is by staging a mega comeback in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City lead the top-flight on 73 points, with Arteta’s side and Liverpool falling behind with 71 due to their defeats last weekend.
