Arsenal got back to winning ways on Wednesday night with a comfortable win over Kairat Almaty in the Champions League.
Admittedly, the scoreline could have been higher and the fact that they conceded two goals was less than ideal, but the Gunners never saw any danger of dropping points.
Additionally, Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafioli were able to get playing time in this game.
However, there were some players who didn’t overwhelm, such as Martin Odegaard, and that could be a problem for him as rumors have surfaced that Arsenal could one day snatch him up.
Arsenal aim to rival Odegaard
To no one’s surprise, Arsenal have had a very quiet transfer window so far this month.
The Gunners have been linked with several star signings such as Julian Alvarez, but it was more about a big-money move in the summer.
Now, as the season draws to a close, the club is once again linked with a player who is almost certainly a summer target and who could prove to be a thorn in Odegaard’s side.
At least that’s according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Arsenal are very interested in Alberto Moreiro.
The Gunners have previously been linked with the Villarreal star, but the report states that interest could materialize into a formal approach this summer.
The article does not reveal how much money the talented Spaniard will make, although reports late last year claimed that a fee of around £26 million could be enough.
It could still be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but Moreiro’s ability and potential make him one of the players Arsenal should be in contention for, even if his addition could cause trouble for Odegaard.
Why Moreiro could be bad news for Odegaard
Well, the first thing to say is that, yes, so far this season Moreiro has played primarily as a winger.
However, last season he spent most of his time in attacking midfield and it is clear that he is a player who can play in either position, which can only be a good thing.
Furthermore, with Arteta currently having a wide range of options at his disposal, it seems likely that the Villarreal star will be signed to play in midfield.
Therefore, his main rival for game time will be Odegaard.
Unfortunately for the Norwegian, at this point it looks like this is a fight he will lose.
The main reason is that while he’s great at holding onto the ball, his output, or lack thereof, is an issue.
For example, in 24 games and 1,318 minutes played this season, the captain has scored just one goal and provided five assists.
This works out to a pretty dismal average of being involved in a goal every four games, or every 219.66 minutes, which is not enough.
Moreiro vs Odegaard on 25/26 | ||
|---|---|---|
player | mirror | Odegaard |
Appearance | 28 | twenty four |
minutes | 1677′ | 1318′ |
the goal | 8 | 1 |
assist | 3 | 5 |
Number of goals involved per match | 0.39 | 0.25 |
Hours per goal involvement | 152.45′ | 219.66′ |
All stats via Transfermarkt | ||
In stark contrast, Moreiro has already scored eight goals and provided three assists in just 28 games this season, playing a total of 1,677 minutes.
This works out to a very impressive average of being involved in a goal every 2.54 games, or every 152.45 minutes.
In other words, despite being five years younger and playing for a worse team, the exciting dynamo is a more dangerous attacker than the Gunners’ number eight.
In the end, it may not be easy, but as long as the price is reasonable, Arsenal should do everything they can to sign Moreiro this year, even if it could be bad news for Odegaard.
Arteta must take off Arsenal star, who lost the ball every three touches against Khairat
Arsenal defeated Kazakh opponents Kairat 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
