Arsenal were beaten against PSG on Wednesday evening, and, once again, a big problem for the Gunners was creativity in midfield.
Martin Odegaard was criticised after the PSG game, and that has been a running theme for the Norwegian in recent times.
Indeed, Odegaard has been off the boil for a while now, and Arsenal do need that extra bit of quality in the middle of the park.
Ethan Nwaneri is a viable alternative, but Arsenal do need that proven, world-class, quality in that area.
Speaking on Stick To Football, Gary Neville has been discussing the brilliance of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United, and during that conversation, Ian Wright made a claim about the Portugal midfielder and Arsenal.
Ian Wright wishes Arsenal had Bruno Fernandes
Gary Neville was in the middle of hailing Fernandes when Wright made a point about the £68m man.
The pundit made it very clear he wishes Arsenal had Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes has been linked with a move away from United recently as Saudi Arabian clubs circle, but United aren’t keen to sell Fernandes, as you can imagine.
“I think Bruno’s a very good crosser of the ball. I think Bruno gets in to that right channel and thinks he’s put some great balls in,” Neville said.
“Yeah, he is, but you wouldn’t think he’s been good. He’s very good. How good has he been, by the way. Oh, my God.
“I wish we had Bruno. I wish we had Bruno,” Wright said.
Bruno Fernandes compared to Martin Odegaard
Wright says he’d love to have Fernandes at Arsenal, and it’s not hard to understand why.
Indeed, Fernandes has been brilliant this season, while Odegaard hasn’t been great as of late.
The stats of both players this term show you everything you need to know. Fernandes has been shining in a poor team, while Odegaard has been struggling in a team that has been up the other end of the table.
| Bruno Fernandes | Martin Odegaard | |
| 33 | Games | 27 |
| 8 | Goals | 2 |
| 9 | Assists | 7 |
| 2.5 | Key passes per game | 2.1 |
| 2.6 | Shots per game | 1.6 |
Fernandes has outperformed Odegaard in so many key categories this season, and who knows? Perhaps if Arsenal had Fernandes in the team they’d be Champions League finalists right now.
Odegaard certainly needs to rediscover his best form if Arsenal are going to win any major honours next season as Mikel Arteta looks to push this team one step further.
