Among the attacking absences that Mikel Arteta has experienced at Arsenal this season he would have loved to have prime Robert Pires at his disposal.
In 284 games for Arsenal Pires scored 84 goals and provided 63 assists, a two time Premier League winner who was vital to Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles.
Pires scored 14 Premier League goals from the wing for the Gunners in their 2003/04 title win, figures that no current Arsenal player has been able to match so far this season.
Despite being out injured, Kai Havertz still tops Arsenal’s Premier League tally this season with nine goals, a total that both Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka will be targeting with six strikes themselves.
Merino is impressing as a striker for Arsenal right now, even if Pires was used to playing with a different calibre of number nine back in his day.
Robert Pires explains why Martin Odegaard is the modern day Dennis Bergkamp
That being said, Pires recently spoke to Optus Sport about Arsenal’s current squad and was asked to choose his favourite player right now.
And whilst Pires chose Saka as number one, he asked to also include a second in the shape of Martin Odegaard, who he ended up comparing to Dennis Bergkamp.
The Arsenal legend first pointed out how problematic Saka’s recent injury had been for Arteta before explaining why Odegaard is the ‘brain’ of this current side.
Pires said: “The first for me is Bukayo Saka because for three seasons he’s very good, he’s scored a lot of goals, he’s doing good assists – I think he’s a very good partner for the other players.
“He’s very important for Mikel Arteta, since he’s been injured for two months Arsenal have not been very regular because of the absence of Bukayo Saka.
“So for me Bukayo Saka is number one and number two is Martin Odegaard, because he’s like Dennis Bergkamp, he’s a maestro.
“He’s number 10, for me he’s the brain of Arsenal and of course he’s the captain so he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
“But Martin Odegaard is very good and very, very class player, yeah.”
Martin Odegaard and Dennis Bergkamp compared
Of course, Odegaard does now play a very similar role to Bergkamp at Arsenal, almost lining up as a second striker alongside Havertz in a 4-4-2 when Arteta’s team don’t have the ball.
And just like Bergkamp, Odegaard is tasked with being Arsenal’s creator in chief – difficult shoes to follow.
| Appearances | Goals | Goals per game | Assists | Assists per game | |
| Martin Odegaard | 186 | 40 | 0.22 | 33 | 0.18 |
| Dennis Bergkamp | 422 | 120 | 0.28 | 116 | 0.27 |
It does feel a little harsh to compare any player to Bergkamp at Arsenal – one of the best to ever wear the shirt.
Although, it’s clear that Odegaard isn’t quite replicating the Dutchman’s goal and assists record at Arsenal just yet, perhaps because he is playing in a slightly deeper role.
But fortunately for Arteta, Odegaard wants to stay at Arsenal long-term, meaning he’s got plenty of time to keep improving that record.
