Odegaard reborn: Arteta finds new formula for Arsenal

No one tells you this: Arsenal does not need to buy an expensive No. 10. They need Martin Odegaard back to the version he showed at Real Sociedad - a free artist, not a mechanical runner. The night Arsenal beat Chelsea at the Emirates, I watched the non-goal moments. In the 23rd minute, Odegaard dropped deep to receive from Gabriel, two Chelsea midfielders pressed him. Instead of a safe square pass, he turned, clipped the ball with his instep and fired a line-breaking pass to Saka. The stadium did not celebrate because Saka missed, but Arteta kept clapping. That moment said it all: Odegaard is liberated. People call me a disruptor. I call it seeing the game one step ahead. Arteta's step was already visible before anyone criticised him for turning Odegaard into a shuttle-runner. Context? In the first three league games, Arsenal were dangerously stale. They kept more than 60% of possession but produced few clear chances. Odegaard was dragged inside, defended too deep and rarely appeared in the box. So when the analysis 'Maestro Odegaard Reborn, Arteta Finds New Formula for Arsenal' pointed out that Odegaard had played four Premier League matches, including the 6/9 home win over Chelsea, I was not surprised. What surprised me was Arteta's courage to break the 4-3-3 structure he had built for three seasons. Here is the core point: Arteta no longer uses Odegaard as a pure No.8. He is now a free No.10, but inside a clear framework. When Arsenal build from the back, Odegaard drops to form a triangle with Rice and a centre-back. Chelsea followed the Norwegian, dragging their midfielders apart. The space between Chelsea's midfield and defence line was torn open. No goal in that match came from a complex pattern. The message was the football itself. Odegaard kept appearing in the half-space, where Chelsea players did not know who should pick him up. When Chelsea's full-back pushed high, Odegaard drifted right not to receive but to drag Gusto out of position, leaving the corridor for Saka. The analysis I held did not offer a massive list of numbers, but it highlighted a key statistic: Odegaard had the highest number of touches in the opponent's half of any Arsenal player. It proves one thing: the Arsenal captain is no longer exiled to the wing. He plays where he hurts opponents - just in front of the defenders. Let me state my opinion: Arteta did not invent a formula from thin air. He found it by accepting that Odegaard is not a winger or a defensive midfielder, but a true No.10 - the kind of player many thought died with Mesut Ozil. Tiki-taka is not dead. It only reveals the limits of soulless disciples. Arsenal do not need meaningless possession. They need to control spaces, and Odegaard is the map to those spaces. Of course, I can be wrong. This is the part for readers to scrutinise. Is Arteta's formula sustainable, or was it a product of a Chelsea side that played deep and left too many gaps? Weaker teams will use five defenders and never open up like Chelsea. Odegaard will face packed boxes, and his 'freedom' may become irrelevant. Arteta needs a Plan B - perhaps Havertz as a false nine, or Timber stepping into a back three - otherwise everything could return to square one. But I did not write this to be cautious. I write to set a checkpoint. Watch Odegaard in the next four Arsenal matches. If he continues as a free No.10 and his touches in the opponent's box rise, this formula is not a tactical gimmick. It is enlightenment. If Arteta drops him back again to protect the defence, what we saw against Chelsea was just a one-night rebellion. See you in ten rounds. The night I write this, all England sings about Arsenal's victory. Three weeks later they will understand why I did not sing. I only smile when I see Odegaard step onto the pitch with bouncing steps. An artist given back his instrument - that is the real story.