Mikel Arteta keeps avoiding one decision that could save Arsenal

Most supporters now agree that something needs to change. On Sunday, Arsenal were beaten at home for the first time all season, defeated 3-2 by Manchester United. Mikel Merino had seemingly snatched a point towards the end, only for the Red Devils to score again straight away.

This also ended the Gunners 108 game sequence of not conceded 3+ goals in a match, dating back to early-December 2023, a 4-3 win over Luton at Kenilworth Road. Not so long ago, Mikel Arteta's team could have moved nine points clear at the top. Now though, having endured back-to-back goalless draws with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, this advantage over Man City is down to four.

Wednesday night's Champions League dead-rubber against Kairat will take care of itself, with full focus on Saturday's Premier League clash with Leeds at Elland Road. Ahead of this tricky but must win trip to West Yorkshire, should a statistic that has come to light inform Arteta's selection decision?

Arsenal's lack of creativity

After failing to score against both Liverpool and Forest, it has been spotlighted that Arsenal rank seventh in the Premier League this season when it comes to open-play expected goals. This leaves them below both Crystal Palace and Bournemouth for this metric.

In fact, more than 50% of the Gunners xG has come via set-plays; only Brentford and Sunderland have a higher proportion. So, more creativity is required from Arteta's attacking midfield players, namely Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze. Well, the team's statistics when one starts and not the other makes for interesting reading.

Arsenal statistics when Eberchi Eze and Martin Ødegaard start

First and foremost, Arsenal have won only one match that neither Ødegaard nor Eze have started this season. This came against Slavia Prague in the Champions League, a match Ethan Nwaneri started. Given that the teenager won't be available for the rest of the campaign, this is not an option.

On the flip side, Eze and Ødegaard have started just three matches together, these against Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Aston Villa. In the first two, the Norwegian was forced off early due to injury, meaning the longest period of time they've been on the pitch together is 45 minutes at Villa Park, before the Englishman was hooked at the interval. Overall, the pair have seen a miserly 204 minutes together.

When one or the other is in the team, the Gunners do boast a better record with Eze. They average 2.25 goals per 90 in these games, while this drops to 2.15 with just Ødegaard starting. The winning run in the autumn when the skipper was sidelined included high-profile victories over Bayern Munich and Tottenham, the summer signing memorably bagging a hat-trick in the latter.

Ødegaard clearly has not been at his best this season, his only goal of the campaign coming against Brighton just after Christmas. Having been taken off before the hour mark in back-to-back games, perhaps he should no longer be an automatic starter, with many hoping to see Eze given the keys to this team.

Perhaps, though, the solution is to start both, something we've rarely seen to date.