Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal vs Southampton: 4 Things We Learned From FA Cup Defeat

By Ross Kennerley

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Mikel Arteta of Arsenal during Southampton v Arsenal, The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round, on January 23, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: Mikel Arteta of Arsenal during Southampton v Arsenal, The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round, on January 23, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Arsenal, Martin Odegaard
MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 25: Martin Odegaard of Real Madrid during the UEFA Champions League match between Internazionale v Real Madrid at the San Siro on November 25, 2020 in Milan Italy (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Soccrates/Getty Images) /

Arsenal Need Martin Odegaard as Soon as Possible

From Smith Rowe to Willian. That is the state of depth in this side and the gulf in class when the 20-year-old doesn’t play is vast.

The case has been made that Arsenal don’t need another stop-gap body in creative midfield given Smith Rowe’s brilliance. Having seen Saturday’s outing it’s plainly obvious why this isn’t the case.

Of course, Arsenal are now out of the FA Cup thus there are less fixtures to deal with. That, however, does not alter the landscape drastically enough to put any Martin Odegaard-esque deal on hold, so the sooner he arrives the better.

Speaking after the match, Arteta addressed the rumours, as quoted by football.london.

"“I don’t know. Obviously we played today. Since last night I don’t have any news. Probably I will get a few phone calls today and see where we are with every deal.”"

Odegaard needs to be bedded into this team ASAP in order to get him up to speed with the system and ideas. The Europa League is around the corner and so too is a terrifying set of Premier League fixtures. His presence as someone with an eye for a pass and natural creativity on the ball will be an essential asset either later in games or in times of rotation. Arsenal must see this one through.

Home/Arsenal News