Arsenal vs Leicester: 3 important players for crucial clash

This young Arsenal team has done exceptionally well to build momentum in the second half of the season. Seasoned professionals and impressive youngsters alike have raised their level.

This improvement has also come at the right time. With no cup competitions and faltering rivals all around them, the objective in front of Arsenal is clear: get top four. For the first time in years, this goal seems attainable.

We must not, however, get ahead of ourselves. We have to take the season one game at a time, something Arteta will be drilling this into the squad.

The Spaniard places a great deal of importance on mentality and he will not miss any opportunity to keep his team grounded. That being said, the next game on the horizon is against Leicester City. The Foxes have struggled at times this season and have looked far off the pace they set last year.

Arsenal vs Leicester: 3 important players for crucial clash that will have implications on the Gunners’ hunt for the Premier League top four

They are still a formidable team and can beat anyone on their day. Although Leicester sit in 12th in the Premier League, Arsenal can not afford to take them lightly. They’re on a run of four straight wins in all competitions and have avoided defeat in their previous two visits to the Emirates Stadium.

Victory for Arsenal would see them tighten their grip on the top four, though, with confidence and points vital as they prepare to host Liverpool but three days later at the same stadium.

Here are three important players for Arsenal’s crucial clash against Leicester.

1. Martin Odegaard

Since Mesut Ozil first started declining, everyone at the club knew he would have to be replaced. The conundrum, then, was how do you replace a player who, despite his limitations, had unparalleled vision and technique and was unplayable at his prime? Years later, the answer has been found.

Martin Odegaard has impressed critics and fans alike. The control he exerts over midfield has been crucial to Arsenal retaining possession when needed, before turning the screw and exploding into the final third. Leicester have shown frailties at the back this season and Odegaard is the perfect player to exploit them.

His intelligence allows him to make connections and triangles with anyone on the pitch. He finds their runs with perfectly timed passes. The weight of everything he does is superb. Any lapse in concentration or a delay in closing the ball down will be punished by the Norwegian.

His runs into the box are a growing feature of his game. Like his passing, if his runs are not tracked, he will glide into the box before finishing acutely. That killer instinct is something Arteta called for from his team, and the 23-year-old is obliging.

With the form Odegaard is in, Leicester will have a tough time keeping him quiet.

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