Arsenal’s fifth-highest earner must not start another game this season

Victory over Bayer Leverkusen should have provided Mikel Arteta with more answers than questions regarding his Arsenal team selection for the rest of the season.

It was as professional as a second leg can get without being emphatic. The Gunners simply nudged the Bundesliga team aside and quickly turned their focus towards Sunday’s huge Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.

With just a matter of days before the final, Arteta should have a simple choice when selecting his starting side for Wembley, but there have been several ongoing battles in that Arsenal side for a few weeks now. And Eberechi Eze may have just won his.

How Arteta has revived Arsenal’s frontline

In a week that saw Manchester City and Chelsea humbled by European juggernauts, it’s worth pondering how Arsenal can improve and avoid the same result later down the line.

The Gunners weren’t perfect across two legs against Leverkusen, either. They needed a late penalty to rescue a draw in the first leg and their open play struggles once again stole the headlines. An upset was still worryingly on the cards at the Emirates.

But where there is a big game, there seems to be a big moment from Eze. As Arsenal struggle in open play, the former Crystal Palace man continues to produce special moments of quality.

There are a lot of ways to break down a low block – though some in the Premier League seem to have other views – but thrashing a half volley into the top corner has got to be the most satisfying.

Eze’s not the only solution that Arsenal have at their disposal, though. They’ve now got a record-breaker to turn to in Max Dowman, who has already created two chances and completed two dribbles in just 16 minutes against Everton last weekend.

Both are in top form and that is a major problem for one of the highest earners at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze and Dowman are bad news for Arsenal mainstay

There was a time when Martin Odegaard was undeniably the chief creator in North London. Arsenal’s attack ran through both him and Bukayo Saka. Now, it tends to run through Declan Rice, Gabriel’s set-piece threat and Eze’s growing importance. So where does that leave Odegaard?

The Norwegian has the captain’s armband, but is he really the leader over someone with Rice’s presence?

He’s supposed to be the creator, but has assisted six Premier League goals in a season disrupted by continued injury problems. And, given his injury history and his creative traits, the Gunners are unlikely to look towards Odegaard for physicality.

The numbers don’t lie. When Odegaard has played this season, Arsenal’s defensive numbers have been significantly worse than they are when he’s not in the side.

Ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, Arteta must ask himself whether it is worth adding more goals to his side despite the clear drop-off in defensive work as a result.

If the answer is no, then he must opt for Eze over Odegaard. The champions-elect are also unbeaten without their captain in what should be seen as another damning statistic.

What’s more, when taking a deeper look at Odegaard’s defensive numbers, it’s clear that if he’s not creating, then Arsenal have themselves a passenger.

On average in the Premier League this season, Arsenal’s fifth-highest earner has won just 1.42 tackles, made 0.58 interceptions and won just 44.9% of his duels. The bad impact is outweighing the positive impact in his performances.

Ignoring a captain is not an easy call, but Arteta has clear evidence that Arsenal are no longer a better side with Odegaard on the pitch and must make a decision on his role for the remainder of the campaign. For now, however, it must be either Eze or Dowman to start ahead of him.