There have been plenty of disappointing aspects to Arsenal’s season this year.
One of the most significant – outside the lack of trophies, of course – has been the pretty dismal form of Martin Odegaard.
This time last year, the Norwegian international was named the club’s Player of the Year for the second campaign on the bounce, and now there are genuine discussions about his place in the team.
It might sound hyperbolic, but the team’s captain and chief creator amassing a tally of six goals and 12 assists in 45 games isn’t great, especially when there are several ways Mikel Arteta and Co could replace him.
With that said, there is one player, someone once compared to the former Real Madrid star, who certainly shouldn’t be looked at as his replacement and instead should be sold as soon as possible.
How Arsenal could replace Odegaard
Okay, so we don’t think the captain is in any real danger of fully losing his place in the team at the moment, but should his poor form continue into next season, it shouldn’t be off the table.
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So, aside from making an expensive signing, what could Arteta and Co do to replace him in the team?
Well, the first option, which seems to be quite popular among sections of the fanbase, is giving Ethan Nwaneri the chance to make the position his own.
Now, the Hale Ender has primarily played out on the right this season, but across his time in the academy, his most played role was that of a number ten or the most attacking midfield player.
Moreover, if this year has shown us anything, the 18-year-old phenom knows where the goal is and how to play a dangerous pass in behind.
For example, in just 1378 minutes of first-team football, he scored nine goals and provided two assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 125.27 minutes.
A longer-term option, and one that might seem a little foolhardy at the moment, could be unleashing Max Dowman there once he’s acclimated to senior football next season.
Now, it would be utterly absurd to even suggest such a thing for most players his age, but the 15-year-old is evidently not like most players, with respected talent scout Jacek Kulig even going as far as calling him “the most exciting” prospect “since Lamine Yamal.”
It’s not hard to understand why he would say such a thing either, as in just 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, this season, the “ridiculous player,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 19 goals and provided five assists, which comes out to an unreal average of 1.04 goal involvements every game, or one every 81.04 minutes.
So, in short, there are a couple of great in-house solutions should Odegaard not improve his form next year, but another player was once compared to the Norwegian and should be nowhere near the team next season.
The Arsenal star who must be sold
Some Arsenal players, like Jorginho and Kieran Tierney, are already confirmed to be leaving this summer, or they look like they might, like Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Someone who must join the departing players is Fabio Vieira.
The Portuguese midfielder joined the Gunners for around £34m in the summer of 2022, and while it was somewhat of a surprise signing, there was still some genuine excitement at the time, as he’d just produced 23 goal involvements in 39 games for Porto the season prior, and was even described as being similar to Odegaard by Gunners’ legend Gilberto Silva.
“In terms of his style and the coach’s vision, he’s very close to (Martin) Odegaard. He has good ideas and dynamics, but he has to recognise that and the quality he has.”
Unfortunately, things just did not work out for the 24-year-old, and across his two campaigns at the club, the “phenomenal” midfielder, as once dubbed by Kulig, produced just 13 goal involvements in 49 appearances.
After struggling to make any sort of impact for two seasons on the bounce, the decision was made to send him back to Porto for a season-long loan last summer, and while he’s looked better, it would be overdoing it to go any further.
Season
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
Appearances
39
33
16
39
Goals
7
2
1
5
Assists
16
6
3
5
Goal Involvements per Match
0.58
0.24
0.25
0.25
For example, in 39 appearances, totalling 2457 minutes, he has scored five goals and provided five assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 3.9 games or every 245.7 minutes, which is significantly worse than Odegaard’s output this year.
So, if he’s doing better than he was but still isn’t at the level required to play for the club, the only logical answer is to try and sell him as soon as possible while he still has some value.
Therefore, while it might sound harsh, Vieira should never play for Arsenal again, for his own sake and the sake of the club.
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