Arsenal Player of the Month - November 2024

Talk about a month of two halves!

Perhaps Arsenal were scarred by the ghost of Guy Fawkes as they struggled through the first-half of November. The Gunners were insipid and bereft of inspiration in defeats at Newcastle and Inter before the return of Martin Odegaard sparked an immediate improvement at Chelsea.

The results post-international break have been pristine, with the performances even better. Mikel Arteta's side, buoyed by their masterful skipper, are playing at the level we'd grown familiar with in 2024.

They're playing like a title-winning side again, but is their current nine-point deficit to league leaders Liverpool too much to make up?

For our November Player of the Month award, four starts out of a possible six were required to qualify. I think we all know where the latest crown is heading...

3. David Raya (Average rating - 6.83)

Raya is not replicating his clean sheet form from 2023/24, but there's no denying that the Spaniard is considerably improved this term.

He's a commanding shot-stopper who's emerged as a figure of reliability between the Arsenal posts. The Spaniard was certainly not to blame for their early November struggles, and he produced fine stops in the draw with Chelsea and victory over Sporting CP.

This was a solid month for Raya without being outstanding, but crucially, his performance level very rarely dips below what we've come to expect of him.

2. William Saliba & Bukayo Saka (Average rating - 7.0)

In a dystopian world, I wonder how much the club could acquire for the services of these two.

Of course, the Gunners' supreme stars at both ends of the pitch are absolutely invaluable to the project. No amount of money would appease supporters in the event of their departures.

But hey, let's not even enter the realm of that discussion. They're here for the long haul.

Saka's month ignited after the break as he continued his ascent towards the Premier League single-season assist record by adding another three to his remarkable tally in the victories over Nottingham Forest and West Ham. The winger also scored in both wins and was dominant in the Champions League success over Sporting CP, too.

At the back, Saliba's performances aren't being spoken about enough. He's reached the stage where brilliance is the norm. The French defender shone away from home at Chelsea and Sporting, making light work of Europe's most prolific forward in Lisbon.

1. Martin Odegaard (Average rating - 7.875)

Arsenal have become a very good football team since Odegaard returned from injury.

The Gunners stumbled their way through the last couple of weeks of the skipper's recovery, with Arteta perhaps too reliant on his side's physicality in the absence of their virtuoso artist.

Odegaard has restored some beauty to Arsenal's play while elevating them as a force out of possession. He's almost solely responsible for their recent upsurge, and his four starts mean he just about qualifies for the award.

Given his stunning but hardly surprising impact, Odegaard was always going to triumph here.

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