Manchester City could take a big step towards the Premier League title next weekend by beating Arsenal.
Once the latest international break comes to an end, the Citizens will return to Premier League action with a showdown against fellow title chasers Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
Looking ahead to what is undoubtedly one of the biggest games of the season, we have identified one figure in the Arsenal side that could cause a big problem for the Blues – Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard could be a big danger against City
Having featured in 25 Premier League games this season, the midfielder has scored six goals and delivered six assists, leaving only Bukayo Saka (13 goals, eight assists) with more goal contributions in the Arsenal squad.
However, the Norwegian has made more key passes (73) and passes into the penalty area (82) than any other player at the north London club.
In fact, Odegaard, who has been described as a “beautiful” player by Gary Neville, has made more shot-creating actions (154) than any other Arsenal player.
This shows how dangerous the 25-year-old can be in terms of creating goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.
Therefore, we feel that City will have to make sure the Gunners captain has as little impact in the upcoming game as possible as he’s proven himself to be so significant for their attacking power.
His overall performances in the league this season have earned the midfielder a strong campaign rating of 7.33/10 from WhoScored, making him the eighth-highest-rated player in the division.
While Mikel Arteta’s side have other players that could cause damage to City’s defence, keeping Odegaard quiet and being clinical in front of goal could be the key to success for Pep Guardiola’s team.
Taking into account how the Norway international only had 32 touches of the ball in 71 minutes during the previous meeting between the two sides at the Etihad last season, this shows that the Blues have what it takes to subdue Odegaard and his teammates.