Author Archives: keenosafc

Arsenal right to let Odegaard represent his country

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Martin Odegaard is ruled out for at least the month of September, according to the Norwegian team doctor. This will see our skipper miss the tough trips to Tottenham and Manchester City.

“Arteta should be pulling players out of international duty” many a fan has cried. Including myself in the past. But this is not a realistic solution.

A manager forcing a player to miss playing for his country potentially creates an issue; a wedge being between club and player. Players should only opt out of playing for their country if they choose to, our if they are actually injured.

Odegaard is captain of Norway. He is their captain and has over 60 caps at just 25. He rarely misses games for club and country.

Erling Haaland also rarely misses games for his country. The pair are clearly on a mission to carry their nation to the qualification of an international tournament for the first time in 24.

2000 was the last and only time Norway have qualified for the European Championships. 1998 was the last time they were in the World Cup – and only 3 times in their history. In Haaland and Odegaard, Norway have two of the finest footballers of their generation. And the pair clearly want to make their nation proud.

Arsenal, Arteta, forcing Odegaard, or any other player, only risks souring a relationship.

“But other clubs do it”, you will claim. They do and don’t.

Manchester City and Chelsea would have pulled Phil Foden and Cole Palmer out of the squad with the agreement of the pair. They would not have forced them out. Foden and Palmer would have known they are no integral to their country’s success, and would be confident in the squad places.

Ironically, in their absence, Anthony Gordon and Jack Grealish stepped up and put in marvelous performances. with Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane all but guaranteed starters, that leave just two positions in Lee Carsley’s front 6.

If Bellingham is pushed deeper, Foden and Palmer are then competing with Grealish and Gordon to play either behind Kane, or on the left win. I have long called for width and pace in the England team so Gordon starts, which leaves Foden, Palmer and Grealish battling for one spot.

The headache comes if Bellingham is pushed forward and Kobe Mainoo continues deeper alongside Rice. That leaves just the left wing open. And if Gordon continues his form for club and country he is surely a shoe in for that position.

By deciding to skip out on this weeks Nations League squads, Foden and Palmer have left the door open for others. And Grealish and Gordon walked straight through it. It will not be as easy for Foden and Palmer to return to the starting XI as they perhaps thought it would be.

Likewise, those calling for Saka to be “pulled out injured” are in the wrong.

Saka goes and misses a couple of games, Palmer or Foden comes into the team and suddenly our Star Boy is fighting for his place in the team rather than be guaranteed starter.

Many of those saying “don’t care, it is all about Arsenal” at this point are probably not England fans. They would be crying if Saka had have declared for Nigeria and then Arteta pulled him out.

At the end of the day, top players play lots of games. and they have the hunger and desire to drive both their clubs and countries forward.

Cristiano Ronaldo has over 200 caps for Portugal. Lionel Messi closing in on 200 for Argentina. Mo Salah has over 100 for Egypt. Neymar nearly 130 for Brazil. Kylian Mbappe is 14 short of 100 and is just 25. You do not win this many caps by flaking on your country.

And if Saka, Odegaard or any other player wants to be talked about in the same breath as a Ronaldo, Messi, Salah, Modric, etc, they need to be playing 60+ games a season for club and country.

Injuries happen at any time. And whilst I disagree with an international break so early in the season, Odegaard could also have picked up a knock in training like Mikel Merino did.

What is now important is we show our squad strength and someone else steps up. Time for Ethan Nwaneri to shine?

Keenos

International injuries leaves Arteta having to rejig midfield for North London Derby

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Injuries happen. It is part of the course of a season and something all clubs have to deal with.

Last season, Kevin de Bruyne picked up an injury in the opening game of the season. He was not seen again in a Manchester City shirt until January. Erling Haaland also missed a chunk of the season, absent for a month.

I do wonder if we would have got so close to pipping Manchester City to the title if they did not suffer injuries to their two most important players.

City averaged 2.05 points per game during the extended period de Bruyne was injury. That rose to 2.6 ppg when during the second half of the season. Over a 38 game season, that is the difference between 77 points and 100 points.

What is frustrating though is the injuries we have suffered have not been when players are representing The Arsenal, but when they are representing their country.

I have always been frustrated with this early international break.

Clubs diligently plan pre-season, ensuring players fitness is ramped up in an effort to avoid injury before the season has started. And then 3 games in players go off to play for their countries. And in 4 weeks time, there will be another international break. And 4 weeks after that another!

By the time players return from the final international break of the year, we would have played just 11 league games. Some players would have played 6 times for their country in that period.

It just feels imbalanced that clubs pay the wages, but in the opening gambits of a season, only get their players for 67% of the campaign.

And the solution is not to move games to the 2nd half of the season. This would be even more disruptive. The solution is less international games. what really is the point of the Nations League and England playing the likes of Finland, Greece and the Republic of Ireland in glorified friendlies?

Considering we are also seeing the expansion of the Champions League, we are heading towards a collision course between FIFA, UEFA, the Premier League and Football League. Something will have to give. That might be an increase in clubs pulling players out with minor injuries.

Phil Foden was pulled out of the England squad by Manchester City. Cole Palmer was withdrawn by Chelsea. My bet is both will play this weekend. Maybe we just need to start playing the game?

Martin Odegaard picked up an ankle sprain against Austria. It is not yet known how long he will be out for. Riccardo Calafiori also hobbled off for Italy.

This makes our squad look a little thin bare ahead of the Tottenham game – the suspended Declan Rice is joined by injuries Mikel Merino, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney on the sidelines.

The headache for Arteta is the Rice, Merino and Odegaard would likely have been his first-choice midfield against Spurs. All 3 are out.

The absentees will probably see Arteta move from his favoured 4141 formation to 4231 with Jorginho coming in alongside Thomas Partey. He might then spring a surprise in the forward line.

Tottenham are very susceptible to the quickly played long ball over the middle. So Jorginho playing as a quarter back might be advantageous. To exploit Tottenham’s high line we then need pace – an attribute Kai Haverts is not blessed with.

Arteta might then opt for Gabriel Martinelli down the middle, with Havertz in the “10” role behind him. Havertz can then be his influential self in aerial duels, whilst also providing the hold up play that Maritnelli lacks, whilst Gabi dovetails nicely with his pace in behind. The old “big man small man” routine.

I would then expect to see Raheem Sterling provide extra pace coming in from the left. He is the sort of player that could really exploit Tottenham’s lack of defensive full backs. Sterling and Martinelli running through onto Jorginho’s long passes could be a drea. and then of course we will see Bukayo Saka on the right.

This formation will give us solid foundations with our back 4 and then defensive duo in-front of them. And then the ability to spring a quick attack from deep with the pace up top.

Hopefully, Odegaard is not out too long. Knowing our luck it will be a 4-week injury and he will be fit just in time to represent Norway at the next international break.

Football is a squad game, and you have to deal with injuries. We have the players to do it, and the midfield and forward line we put out this weekend will be quality and filled with internationals. We can have no excuses.

Keenos

Who is Arsenal’s greatest uncapped player?

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It’s that time of year again. Club football has disappeared as quickly as it came back. Two weeks of International friendlies, two weeks into the start of the new season.

A portion of the squad have jetted out to their respective national sides, with Mikel Arteta and co crossing their fingers for no major injuries to deal with once said teammates return. The remaining players left at London Colney would have continued to work away in a reduced group.

Mikel himself is no stranger to this feeling even as a player. It’s well documented how despite his classy, composed style of play he never received a call up for the Spanish National Team – but that’s life competing against Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso, Fabregas, Cazorla and co unfortunately!



Still, a lack of national team caps does not make a bad player. After all, John Lukic, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould, Rocky Rocastle, Alan Sunderland, Michael Thomas, Paul Davis, George Armstrong, Ray Parlour and Kevin Campbell – all players with thousands of Arsenal matches and memories under their belts combined, only accumulated a total of 31 England caps between all 10 of them.

So what I am curious about is which Arsenal players you personally believe should have collected many more international callups? Which players did you see excel at club level or thought had that type of potential but were always shunned for whatever reason at national team level?

One player staying in London during this interval is Gabriel Martinelli.

His most standout season in 2022/23 which saw him contribute to a combined 21 goals and assists helped secure him a consistent place in the Brazilian National Team squad. But as time has ticked by and his end product numbers have dropped, so has Gabi been from the most recent Brazil squad named by Dorival Júnior.

We really are now reaching that point of a crossroads for Martinelli’s Arsenal career.

With patchy returns on the pitch and Trossard and Sterling providing stronger competition than he’s ever had for a starting berth, will the Brazilian end up outlasting the older Trossard and the on-loan Sterling and push on at 23 years old, or will his game time dry up as the season goes on and leave him in the wilderness? Questions to be asked and questions for Gabi to answer in the next 8 months that could well shape his future at the club in general.

Aside from the aforementioned topics, the days are ticking down until the next installment of us against them. So would you give Raheem a first start away in a north London derby? What’s been your personal favourite NLD memory? And what would be your celebration if you bagged a 90th minute winner against them lot? Creative ideas for the celebs are most encouraged.

Nick