Former Arsenal Players Thread: Page 130 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Former Arsenal Players Thread

Burnwinter

I can see us replacing Ødegaard if he can't drag himself back to his best due to injuries, but along with a few others such as Saka, Gabriel and White, I'd dearly love to see Øde rewarded with some big trophies while he's our man.

None more deserving, these players have been wrecking their bodies for us and there are quite a few others who are right behind them. Özil never worked so hard, and Fabregas who did could only wish for the solidarity and investment we're seeing now.

USArsenal

Burnwinter Fabregas who did could only wish for the solidarity and investment we're seeing now

If he saw that kind of investment in the club, he probably wouldn't have left (or van Persie, or Nasri or a few others).

Qwiss

USArsenal if we had that kind of investment van Persie would have played second fiddle to someone who could stay fit. Fabregas was always going to leave as soon as Barca came knocking and Nasri, well he'd have been decent cover I suppose.

MistaT

Qwiss — Odegaard was certainly hiding and abysmal the first few seasons he played Liverpool. He’s corrected that the last two seasons but prior to that he had some cowardly games.

RowJimmy

Odegaard is occasionally ineffective. Sometimes he chooses the cautious option rather than the risky one. And sometimes he should shoot but doesn't. But the idea that he's "hiding" or "cowardly" is absurd.

MistaT

RowJimmy — it wasn’t absurd two seasons ago.

These days (last season) though I’m completely with you.

GooneriC

Ozil a tier above Odegaard. He's different class that goggle eyed genius

Sicario2

GooneriC Ozil won the WC. Not even a comparison.

Burnwinter

Sicario2 Ødegaard represents Norway not Germany for the love of Christ.

You goddamned silly-billy how do you always manage to pick the least calibrated measure of comparison ... ?

Big Willie

Sicario2 Ozil won the WC. Not even a comparison.

Yup, put some respek on Ozil and Mustafi's names.

Qwiss

Sicario2 Ozil won the WC.

Yeah so did Giroud but we don't say he was better than van Persie because of it.

DiabyKungFu

Burnwinter Ødegaard represents Norway not Germany for the love of Christ.

Okay, cool. What's your excuse for Odegaard having 0 DFB-Pokal titles, then?

Burnwinter

DiabyKungFu He's a Norwegian and he hasn't even won the Nobel Peace Prize. Not world class!

Meatwad

cesc is next level. put cesc in this team instead of ode (even 2022-23 ode) and no one is wondering if we're winning the title, it's by how many points are we winning it.

Dom

Ozil IS a cunt and giving him a new contract was an embarrassing mistake, but the stats from his last season at Bremen to the end of the 2016/2017 season are pretty extraordinary. Five seasons of more than 20 goals + assists, with a few seasons sprinkled within that period where he almost hit 20 assists. For reference, the likes of De Bruyne, Di Maria and Fabregas were putting up similar figures for an extended period.

Odegaard is not in that kind of company, IME. Don't think he has that level of football IQ and technique. I see Odegaard as Wesley Sneijder and Bernardo Silva level, which is very respectable but I wish his good form in early 2024 had propelled him to get closer to the likes of Ozil and Fabregas in productivity. However, he's a much less objectionable person than those two, which I appreciate to a degree.

If I had to do a tier list of high-profile attacking midfielders in the last 15 years, I'd go with:

S+ - De Bruyne, Hazard, Bale
A - Fabregas, Ozil, Di Maria, Cazorla, Sanchez
B - Sneijder, Odegaard, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Ramsey

RowJimmy

Dom
I take it you're counting Modric as a central rather than attacking MF, but I sort of think he needs to be considered.
Iniesta left Barcelona in 2018, he is on the top tier here.
I don't think either Sanchez or Bale is a midfielder at all. Bale didn't give a shit most of the time and Sanchez was as often a liability as an asset (this is probably a minority opinion around here).
David Silva up a level.

Burnwinter

Dom Five seasons of more than 20 goals + assists, with a few seasons sprinkled within that period where he almost hit 20 assists. For reference, the likes of De Bruyne, Di Maria and Fabregas were putting up similar figures for an extended period.

Odegaard is not in that kind of company, IME. Don't think he has that level of football IQ and technique.

If we're basing it on numbers, Ødegaard's Premier League output has been higher than Özil's on average.

Özil from 2014–2020 in the Premier League had:

Season   Apps    GA
14–15    22      9
15–16    35      25
16–17    33      17
17–18    26      12
18–19    24      7
19–20    18      3
Total    158     73

Øde has had:

Season   Apps    GA
20–21    14      3
21–22    36      11
22–23    37      22
23–24    35      18
24–25    30      11
Total    152     65

Aggregate end product has been comparable over similar periods, but of course Ødegaard has been more available and shouldered more all-round responsibility in a stronger team.

Take the per 90s and Özil will look better but then you're giving him credit for his absences.

Then there's the fact Özil came here age 25 and Ødegaard will be 27 around Christmas. He's under contract at Arsenal till June 2028. Supposing he cranks out another 100 appearances and 45 GA over the next three seasons, he will undoubtedly be the pick of the two.

Dom

Burnwinter

Odegaard has never racked up more than 10 assists in a season, so calling him the league's most creative player is quite a stretch given we've had Saka, Salah and De Bruyne at their best in the last few seasons. I'd swap his pressing abilities for someone who produces more assists and goals.

Dom

RowJimmy

Yeah, I didn't include Modric because he's a CM. I'd say Iniesta was the same and not an AM. He didn't score or assist much. Bale at Real Madrid found himself in the centre a lot more than when he was at Spurs.

Speedster

I popped similar stats before people should have some respect.
I googled it and found
"Ödegaard's 15 non-penalty goals so far is the joint-most ever in one EPL season (for a midfielder). What a player! No midfielder has ever scored more non-penalty goals in one EPL season than Ödegaard."Archived post.7 May 2023 (he matched De Bruyne highest ever season.)

We don't have stats for how many times we conceded 4,5 and even 6 goals because Ozil couldn't be bothered putting any effort in that day. (Obviously there were other factors in these losses but Ozil CBA attitude was a huge factor). Ode leads our press defense.

Lukazan

Qwiss Such an obviously dumb stupid way to compare players. Is Milan fucking Baros somewhere closer to Ronaldo's level because Baros won a CL and Ronaldo did not?

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