Odegaard has shown that Saka’s absence is not the reason for his bad form

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·22 de abril de 2025

Odegaard has shown that Saka’s absence is not the reason for his bad form

How many of us genuinely believed that Martin Odegaard was struggling simply because Bukayo Saka was injured?

When Saka picked up his knock at the end of last year, ruling him out for around three months, Arsenal’s rhythm suffered. Understandably, when a team loses a key player, the burden falls on others to step up and fill the void. In our case, most fingers pointed to Odegaard, our captain, our creator-in-chief, the heartbeat of the team. It was expected that he would rise to the occasion and carry the side through a difficult spell.

Vídeos OneFootball

But that didn’t happen.

Instead of taking control, Odegaard looked lost. His usual sharpness and vision seemed dulled, his influence waning game after game. The Norwegian didn’t look like the same player who lit up the Premier League last season with his flair, leadership, and crucial goals. And so, a theory emerged: Odegaard was underperforming because Saka, the winger who so often plays just ahead of him, was missing. The thinking was that Odegaard needed Saka to be at his best.

Yet here we are, months later, with Saka back in the side, and Odegaard still doesn’t look himself.

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Yes, their on-field relationship has shown signs of life. There have been glimpses of the quick one-twos, the clever link-ups on the right, and the pressing sequences that used to terrorise defences. But it’s not been enough. There’s been no standout performance from Odegaard to suggest he’s rediscovered his magic. No moment where you sit back and say, “That’s the captain we know.”

Saka has returned and looked lively, even game-changing in spells, but Odegaard hasn’t raised his level accordingly. In fact, it’s starting to look like his dip in form runs much deeper than Saka’s absence. The theory that he needed the Englishman to shine is quickly falling apart.

And it begs a difficult question: Are we witnessing the beginning of Odegaard’s decline? Is this just a rough patch, or something more permanent?

Whatever it is, Arsenal need answers, and Odegaard needs to find his spark again, quickly. There’s still time to change the narrative, but right now, it’s looking bleak.

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