Leicester 1-3 Arsenal: 3 things learned as Willian puts on a show

3. Arteta can rotate with Smith-Rowe and Odegaard

Before the signing of highly-rated attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on loan last month and the exit of Mesut Ozil to Turkish side Fenerbache, Arsenal were relying heavily on youngster Emile Smith-Rowe.

Don’t get me wrong, the youngster has a lot of potential and has put in some excellent performances, but he’s still very young and has a long way to go, so needs that more experienced player in the same position who he can rotate with.

Odegaard went on loan to Real Sociedad last season and scored seven goals and got nine assists in all competitions as well as being one of the Spanish sides top chance creators.

Smith-Rowe had a 94% pass accuracy but unfortunately had to be taken off before half time as he suffered a muscular injury.

Both players provide a pivot in midfield and are able to collect the ball and run forward, as well as finding passes in dangerous positions in the final third.

Arsenal certainly need to try and keep hold of Odegaard and sign him permanently, because he acts as that more experienced attacking midfielder and someone that Smith-Rowe can learn from in the future.

Odegaard will have to prove he is better than Smith-Rowe in order to allow Arteta to give him more minutes so he can show Arsenals fans what he’s really about.

Odegaard loves to pass, which has already been evident in recent games and accurate passing improves Arsenal’s performances a great amount, so the more game time he is given, the more we can see him at his best.