Emmanuel Petit has admitted that Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard already looks tired this season.
Petit was speaking to Ally McCoist and Alan Brazil on TalkSPORT (25/10 8:41am) after an important Champions League victory.
It was Brazilian stars Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus who scored the decisive goals in Andalusia last night.
There were some other brilliant performances across the pitch.
Takehiro Tomiyasu came in for Oleksandr Zinchenko after a disappointing display against Chelsea and showed why Mikel Arteta put his faith in him.
Ahead of him in midfield, Declan Rice was once again on fire and might be Arsenal’s most important player right now.
Last season, Arsenal relied heavily on Martin Odegaard to create chances for his attacking teammates, but in recent games, he’s struggled slightly.
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Emmanuel Petit admitted Odegaard looked tired last night and the Arsenal capital isn’t at his creative best.
The £240,000-a-week playmaker has completed 90 minutes on eight occasions already this season.
Arteta has a plethora of options in the squad that can play in his role and despite his importance, his minutes might need to be managed soon.
Petit worried about Arsenal star Odegaard
Asked about the Norwegian international, Petit said: “Some players are not 100% actually and despite that they are still competing and winning games.
“[Martin] Odegaard recently looks sloppy on the pitch with no creativity and he looks tired as well physically.
“The fact we are playing tough, tough games every three days has an impact and the fact that there’s not a big rotation in the team.
“That could be a problem as well. I remember what happened last season, especially in the last few weeks of the season when they get some important players injured.
“Odegaard, every time he plays well, most of the time Arsenal win the game.
“The last couple of games he was not the same player on the pitch and that has an impact on Arsenal competitively.”
Some Arsenal fans will agree with Petit that Odegaard might not be at his best right now, but he’s got plenty of credit in the bank.
He’s been called ‘world-class’ in recent weeks and there are still suggestions that he’s one of the best players in the world in his position.
Sheffield United at the weekend offers Arteta the best opportunity possible to rest him since their Carabao Cup tie against Brentford.
It would still be a huge surprise to see him on the bench even with the likes of Kai Havertz, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira waiting in the wings to replace him.