Bizarre to call him a fraud. He's a fantastic player. He just seems burnt out. I hope he recovers form to help Arsenal win the League, and even if but, i think his ceiling is quite high.
That said, hopefully he cuts out the diving.
Saka (Arsenal)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
That said, hopefully he cuts out the diving.
Wow that’s really poor. Like the rest of his team, he’s dipping at the wrong time. I rate him very highly but the trend has to be worrying for Arsenal fans given technically he has everything in his locker.
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You must not watch much of him because individually he has bags of talent. Can breeze past a man, can score and assist.. pretty muche everything you want in a RW.
This was in Sept ‘23. Feel like it’s very much gone that way.
He is not and has never really been a particularly good (i.e. efficient) dribbler:
He's much more of a wide forward that needs to cut inside rather than a pure winger who creates and carries the ball. There's been a concerted effort to make him much more of a Salah-esque player:
Obviously this isn't necessarily a bad thing given how good Odegaard is at building from deep areas but I don't think it's correct to say he's a complete RW at this point given how much more specialised his role has been this year especially.
Honestly, I know a lot won't be made of that but it's genuinely disgraceful. Just make sure you get it past the first man. Imagine Beckham did this in 99. The importance of set pieces especially in the dying moments of big matches can't be understated. Arsenal do bottle it when it really matters.
Bottled a big occasion again.
Bit harsh, was good first leg and average 2nd leg at the age of 22. Think they went a bit defensive but was an even game for the most part.
He's one of the few players at Arsenal I actually like, even despite the diving (which is unnecessary), but it was highlighted last season and during this season that Arteta's over-reliance on him would catch up with Saka in the end, and it seems to be just that. He seems exhausted mentally mostly, and I worry about him at the Euros - he's an easy target for online criticism and despite having showed fortitude and resilience in the past, I hope he doesn't become a scapegoat if England don't do well and his performances aren't top notch.
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I agree with all of that, I just don't think there's any area of his game that stands out as elite or near elite level, not yet anyway. As @TheMagicFoolBus pointed out the metrics back that up aswell, and also the comparison to Salah in style I agree with. He is being used/developed in a way to maximize goals and assists as part of a structured system that doesn't really allow freedom. The problem is when you're not playing well or its a tight game his lack of elite qualities overshadow a lot of the good qualities he has.
Whenever Arsenal have come to the Bridge in recent times and I've been there, Odegaard always stood out as a level above all of your attacking players. Even if you weren't playing well his individual quality would still shine through with every touch.
Who hasn't @MayosNoun called a fraud?
A Scottish player
