Perry Groves believes that keeping Martin Odegaard on the bench for a run of games could inspire the Arsenal captain to get back to his very best.
Arsenal conjured up yet another late goal in the Premier League at the weekend, with Gabriel’s injury-time header securing a 2-1 win over Newcastle.
And fresh off the bench after three games sidelined with a shoulder injury, it was Odegaard who provided the crucial assist from the corner in the dying moments at St James’ Park.
The Gunners’ skipper has been an ever-present figure in Mikel Arteta’s side, but an injury-affected campaign last season saw a noticeable decline in his goal involvements.
With Odegaard not yet back to full fitness, it was Eberechi Eze who was given his first league start in the No10 role, and former Arsenal player Groves sees no reason to take him out of that role after his impressive showing against Newcastle.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘Eze’s inclusion was spot on – a lot of Arsenal fans have been asking for that,’ Groves told Metro via Cafe Casino. ‘Normally, it’s a 4-1-4-1 with Zubimendi a little bit deeper, but it went into a 4-2-3-1 with Declan Rice a little bit deeper with Eze in the 10 and it worked great.
‘You’re looking at big players to affect big games and I thought as Eze did, especially in the first half, when, without exaggeration, we could have been two or three up in the first half an hour, 35 minutes.’
But while benching Arsenal’s club captain may prove a tricky decision for Arteta, Groves is confident that the move would only spur Odegaard on to get back to his very best levels.
‘Not through a lack of effort but he hasn’t been himself because of injuries,’ he said of the Norwegian international.
‘He hasn’t been his free-flowing creative self, but what happens now is Eze comes in, and when you’re at a massive club, you have to lift your own personal performance, and that will spur Odegaard on.
‘If you look at Sunday when Odegaard came on, he got straight into the pace of the game, and he ends up obviously getting the assist for the goal with a brilliant delivery from the corner.
‘So I think what happens with the top players is being on the bench inspires you to reach another level, and the beauty with Arsenal’s squad depth is that they can do that and rotate their options now.’
Perry continued: ‘With the subs now, there’s no drop off in the standard because there’s no drop off in the player.
‘And what that means is, when you come on with 25 minutes, 30 minutes ago, the actual level of the team goes up because obviously those players are coming on fresh.
‘And when you’re playing against Arsenal, you’re thinking, oh, there’s no respite, it’s relentless. That’s exactly what Man City were like in their pomp.’
Arsenal will likely fall back on their squad depth in midweek, as the Gunners prepare for their next Champions League fixture against Olympiacos on Wednesday.
The north London side picked up three points in their opening fixture in the league phase after a 2-0 away win over Athletic Club.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.from: elfutbolero.us