Paul Merson declares Arsenal midfield “impossible to fix” without Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard

Former Arsenal player and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has stated in his latest column that, without Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have an “impossible to fix” midfield.

“Rice takes the ball up the pitch and Odegaard makes things happen in the final third. I don’t think there’s anybody that can replace Odegaard. He’s a very, very special player and would be the first name on the teamsheet. Arsenal need him in the big moments to pick the right pass.

“I’m trying to pick a midfield three and I can’t. They might be good on the ball, but they’re not going to get it back when Tottenham have it. That’s the worry for me. Jorginho likes to sit there and I don’t think Thomas Partey can go and play as a No 8.”

Rice is set to miss out on the North London Derby owing to the suspension he picked up in the last game against Brighton. Ødegaard, on the other hand, picked up an ankle injury during the international break and may on the sidelines for a while.

Arsenal face Tottenham on Sunday as their first fixture after the first international break of the season.

Exasperating exaggerations

Arsenal are undoubtedly weaker in the absence of Rice and Ødegaard, but their predicament need not be deemed “impossible to fix”.

Arteta has options in Jorginho, who is very much capable of playing alongside a sitting midfielder instead of playing as a sitting midfielder. Bukayo Saka can also do a job in the centre of the pitch. Even one of the solutions Merson has offered in his column, like putting Kai Havertz in a withdrawn role and putting Leandro Trossard up front, is, to his credit, a viable option.

All of this is, of course, speculative assuming Arteta sticks to his 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 setup, which is more likely instead of coming up with an ad hoc solution for the upcoming North London Derby, but the point here is that he will be able to come up with a plan that allows him to stick to his preferred style of play. Then again, as Arsenal’s second league game against Man City showed us last season, Arteta is not completely against the idea of pulling off a bespoke pragmatic plan to see out a tricky game, which this one definitely will be.

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Expect Arsenal to stick to their guns. Expect them to not be completely toothless and permeable in midfield.