Martin Odegaard, the club captain, might soon lose his undisputed starter tag. The Gunners have invested heavily this summer with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz joining for a combined £170million to bolster the midfield options at the Emirates.
Rice has been anchoring the midfield while Havertz has been used on the left-hand side of the three, taking over from Granit Xhaka who returned to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. The former Chelsea man has been a bit of a divisive signing, just as he was while at Stamford Bridge, and he’s yet to get off the mark for his new side. However, he’s been quite tidy in possession and it is clear that Arteta rates the Germany international.
For example, in the 2-2 draw with Fulham, Havertz won all of his tackles, all of his aerial duels, found a teammate with 91% of his passes and finished the game having played two key passes.
Against Crystal Palace on matchday two for the Gunners, the 37-cap international, again, put in a shift as part of the midfield. He won four of his six aerial duels, made an interception, won all of his tackles, and wasn’t dispossessed while completing 89% of his passes and playing one key pass on the night.
Few would’ve expected these sorts of performances from a £65million attacking signing but he’s carrying out a role for the team and that is all that matters to Arteta.
He might eventually be moved into more of a centre-forward role but, for now, at least, the Gunners seem content with Eddie Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus as their No9 options.
So, Havertz and Rice are shoo-ins for two-thirds of the midfield three. The final spot is currently possessed by Odegaard. The 24-year-old was one of the players of the season last year, scoring 15 times in the Premier League and chipping in with seven assists as he played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s title challenge. The skipper is already off the mark this season having scored the winner against Crystal Palace. He’s been impressive in the opening three matches too and is one of only six Arsenal players with a WhoScored average rating of over 7.0.
His place in the starting XI could soon be under threat though, especially after Fabio Vieira’s showing against Fulham.
The 2022 summer signing was given just over half an hour on Saturday having replaced Havertz. Despite racking up just 34 minutes, only three players attempted more dribbles than the No21 (3) while he also finished the game having completed 100% of his passes. Furthermore, the 23-year-old also finished with more key passes than Odegaard.
Vieira won the penalty which Bukayo Saka converted to draw Arsenal level. He then assisted Nketiah to give Arteta’s men the lead. All in all, it was quite the cameo. Saka (7.6) was the only player in red to claim a higher WhoScored rating (7.5) than the £35million signing.
Afterwards, Arteta took responsibility for the creative midfielder’s lack of game time. The minutes against Fulham were his first of the season.
The Gunners boss said: “Fabio was excellent and it is the first minutes he’s played in the Premier League this season and I was really impressed with how he wanted the ball and how positive he was, the decisions that he made and the attitude that he had straight away.
“Fabio was involved in everything we created and I am really happy with that. To see players with the ability to make and take chances with quality. It is my fault that Fabio has not played more and today he gave me reasons to play him more.”
Arteta said something very similar towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign with Vieira struggling for minutes in the first-team.
Speaking after the Europa League clash with Sporting, the former Manchester City assistant manager said: “We’re really happy with him, I think he deserves more minutes than he’s had especially in the last two months. You saw tonight he was one of our dangerous players, making things happen and he’s a player that I absolutely love.”
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