Martin Odegaard DONE at Arsenal as brutal Mikel Arteta decision leaves no way back | OneFootball

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been told why he needs to walk away from the club this summer, as Mikel Arteta continues to phase the attacking midfielder out of his regular starting XI.

The Norway international has been a standout performer for Arteta, after arriving in a £30million move from Real Madrid in 2021, making over 200 appearances for the Gunners and registering 87 goal involvements in that time.

However, his stock at Arsenal has fallen in recent times, with Odegaard notching just six times in all competitions last season and only once this time around.

And, while injury issues have played a part, the 27-year-old has started less than half of Arsenal’s games this term and has even found himself on the bench when fully fit and available.

The big-money arrival of Eberechi Eze was expected to provide extra competition for the Norwegian at The Emirates, and despite the England star having some struggles of his own, it was the former Crystal Palace man who filled the No.10 role in the rout of Tottenham on Sunday – scoring twice to make it five goals in two games against Spurs this season.

Odegaard, in contrast, only came on as a late substitute and Liverpool legend Steve Nicol and former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf both think that the Gunners skipper is now finished in north London.

Asked how Arteta should use Odegaard for the remainder of the campaign, as Arsenal fight for the Premier League title and also chase Champions League success, Nicol said on ESPN: “Odegaard might be leaving Arsenal.

“If you’re Odegaard, the club captain and 18 months ago you were the guy. All of a sudden – and I know he’s had some injuries – but there’s question marks over whether he actually starts because of Eze.

“And maybe because of the way he’s been playing, someone else might get ahead of him as well. So if you’re Martin Odegaard, do you stick around? I don’t think you do.”

Leboeuf added: “I agree, I agree. I’ve always liked Martin Odegaard and the way he plays because he’s very elegant, but he’s not influential anymore.

“He’s there to start the action, to distribute the ball horizontally. But with Eze right now the moves are not the same, he’s more vertical, more influential and he’s going to help [Viktor] Gyokeres too.

“So it will be a hard time for Odegaard and he will have to make a very good choice, a big choice, at the end of the season.”

Odegaard will be hoping for a bit more game time on Sunday when Arsenal host Chelsea in the Premier League, although he is expected to start on the bench again after Eze’s heroics against Tottenham.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta have taken a shine to a young French striker, according to a report, which has also named Chelsea and Real Madrid among the interested clubs.

Elsewhere, Arsenal are preparing to make Piero Hincapie’s switch from Bayer Leverkusen permanent after a hugely impressive campaign at Emirates Stadium, and with Mikel Arteta already making clear his intentions to trigger the deal, TEAMtalk can reveal.