Arsenal: Question over Martin Odegaard’s return after Eberechi Eze’s derby statement

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·26 November 2025

Arsenal: Question over Martin Odegaard’s return after Eberechi Eze’s derby statement

Odegaard could face competition to get back in the side after Eze display against Tottenham

There is no greater evidence of Arsenal’s squad depth this season than the circumstances surrounding Martin Odegaard’s return from injury.

It was around this time last year that the Norwegian was also just returning from a spell on the sidelines. Mikel Arteta’s solution during Odegaard’s absence had been to tear up his original game plan.

Starved of their chief playmaker, Arsenal shifted from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2 set-up.

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Odegaard’s comeback involved him playing one minute off the bench at Inter Milan, before he started and played the full game against Chelsea.

Coincidentally, the Arsenal captain’s return this week once more sees a clash with a European heavyweight - on this occasion it is Bayern Munich - before another trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The circumstances around Odegaard’s return, however, are far different to a year ago.

This time, Arteta has not had to devise a new tactic and Odegaard is not guaranteed to start at Chelsea - even if, during his injury absence, some fans have forgotten how crucial he has been for Arsenal in the past.

Eberechi Eze is the reason for that. The 27-year-old has been a steady performer since his £60million move from Crystal Palace in the summer, but he came alive during Sunday’s north London derby.

Eze became only the fourth player in history to score a hat-trick in that famous fixture and his performance sparked a debate about whether Odegaard deserves to come straight back into the team.

Eze scored a hat-trick against Tottenham on Sunday

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Jamie Carragher argued Odegaard had a “real fight” to get back in the XI, while Thierry Henry stated there will be “healthy competition” with Eze.

It is a selection headache that Arteta says he enjoys. “I do, because the priority is for the team to be as efficient as possible and to win football matches,” he said. “Players are going to have to merit to play, and the higher the standards each individual puts in, the higher the level of the team is going to be. So we’re going to have to live with that in a really positive way because it’s extraordinary.”

Arsenal have been too reliant on Odegaard in recent seasons.

The club have seen the benefit elsewhere in the squad by having more competition, and now it can be replicated with Odegaard and Eze driving each other on to raise their games, in the same way that Noni Madueke can push Bukayo Saka.

“It’s a bigger group than we’ve had in the last few years, and the level is unbelievable,” Odegaard said earlier this season. “We see that in training, it’s a lot more competitive, and everyone wants the same thing. We want to win trophies and to do that we need everyone to work together.”

Arteta should relish the headache of choosing between Eze and Odegaard, because stylistically they are so different. It boils down to a choice of control or chaos.

Odegaard is a conductor and, per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, he has completed nearly double the number of passes that Eze has.

Odegaard and Eze could play together

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

In contrast, Eze is having double the number of shots and he is Arsenal’s joint top scorer in the league.

“It can be right, left, ball on the ground, bouncing ball at this height, and he (Eze) takes it,” said Arteta, when describing Eze’s willingness to shoot.

There is also the exciting prospect of Eze and Odegaard playing together.

Injuries have restricted the pair to starting just twice alongside each other and the second of those lasted only 30 minutes before Odegaard came off injured.

It is a set-up Arteta will try again, and it may turn out to be the perfect answer to a selection headache other managers could only dream of.