Former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit has said in an interview that Gunners captain Martin Odegaard hasn't been the same player that he was last season.
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Petit believes Odegaard 'not the same'Arsenal playing new midfieldCurrently at the top of the tableGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
After 13 matchdays, Arsenal have once again emulated their league position from the same point last season as they sit atop the Premier League standings. To make things better, they have also qualified for the round of 16 in the Champions League. However, their captain, Odegaard has failed to have a similar impact on the team as he did last season, as per Petit. The 24-year-old has played alongside new signings Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in the Gunners' new-look midfield. The former France midfielder has labeled the Norwegian's performances as sloppy and feels that he is mentally and physically tired.
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While talking to Lord Ping about Arsenal's season, he said: "My main worry is players burning out by not getting enough rest because that has cost Arsenal over the last couple of seasons; they’ve lost some really important players to injury. I think the same thing has happened a little bit this season. Odegaard is not the same player as he was last season at the moment. He looks a bit sloppy in everything that he is doing, and he looks tired mentally and physically. It’s not easy to play every three days and to also play for your country.
"I’m very worried about Saka. He plays in nearly every single game – I can’t remember the last time he missed a game for Arsenal – and you can see that he isn’t playing at the same level as he did last season. You could argue that Arsenal beat Brentford on Saturday because of their team spirit because physically and mentally, Arsenal are not at their best. Some important players look tired, they need to add more quality so they can rotate some of the key players."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Arsenal's 2022/23 season collapsed late on after having led the league from Manchester City for almost the entirety of the campaign. The collapse included dropping two-goal leads to West Ham and Liverpool, a 3-3 draw to last placed Southampton and a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of the eventual champions, Manchester City. Petit also highlighted his concerns over burnout of the key players this season, that could cause the Gunners to lost in a title fight yet again.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Mikel Arteta's men will be in action when they take on Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday, December 2 in hopes of keeping up their one-point gap to City. Arteta will also be keeping a keen eye on his squad's fitness levels as the club will look to avoid any more issue having already gone through a plethora of injuries at the start of the season.