With Mesut Ozil on the brink of joining Fenerbahce, it appears Arsenal could provide Emile Smith Rowe with a much sterner challenge should reports linking Martin Odegaard to the club materialise this month.
For Arsenal, the Ozil saga has been an unwanted one. For almost a year, manager Mikel Arteta has faced questions about the German midfielder’s future given the uncertainty over whether the 32-year-old would depart in January or stay to see out the remainder of his reported £350,000-a-week contract.
Now on Turkish shores, Ozil’s move to Fenerbahce is imminent, and though he had long since vacated his crown as Arsenal’s chief creator given he was left out of their Premier League and Europa League squads for 2020-21, only recently have they found a player who looks capable of stepping into his shoes.
As a product of Hale End, Smith Rowe is a popular emergence among Arsenal’s supporters, bringing his form from the Europa League with him to the Premier League and playing a major role in their recent resurgence.
With three assists in five Premier League games, Smith Rowe has helped Arsenal pick up 13 points over that time, a remarkable return given they had only won 14 points in the 14 matches to start the season.
This development on the biggest stage has been a joy to watch, and for Arteta it has been a relief to see some bold calls pay off, with Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka the current faces of this upsurge in form.
However, it appears Arsenal are keen to let the 20-year-old know his status as the club’s new No 10 – both in role and potentially number once Ozil departs – is not entirely guaranteed.
That is because Odegaard, the Norwegian sensation who made his international debut at 15, has been linked with a loan move to Arsenal this month.
Now 22, Odegaard has been the subject of a second approach from Arsenal, according to Sky Sports, with the Real Madrid midfielder chasing regular first-team football having started just three La Liga games this season.
A return to Real Sociedad has also been mooted given his successful loan spell there last season, while Arsenal are said to be one of several Premier League clubs interested.
As a No 10 himself, Odegaard – who started 33 games as Sociedad’s attacking midfielder last season, recording seven goals and nine assists – would provide Smith Rowe with some direct competition at Arsenal, whose desire to sign a new creative midfielder is no secret.
Technical director Edu told fans in December: “It’s quite clear what we need. We need a player with creativity in the middle, we don’t have that in the squad right now.
“As a Brazilian, I’m very open. I’m not scared to say things. We are not comfortable in this situation we’re in. Every single club has problems.”
It is worth noting these quotes came before Smith Rowe’s first Premier League start of the season, but even so, the links with Odegaard show Arsenal appear willing to lay down a challenge to their latest breakthrough talent.
Arteta would not discuss Odegaard when asked about the player on Thursday, but the manager did say Arsenal are entering the second phase of their January plan after a clear-out which has seen Sokratis Papastathopoulos released, Sead Kolasinac and William Saliba leave on loan, and Ozil soon to join them.
“We have done the first part more or less and we are focusing now on the second phase,” said Arteta. “Obviously this market and the context makes it difficult, but we are looking at options and we will see what we can do.
“We are looking at various positions because the movement we have made in this window with some players leaving the club has left us a little bit short in certain areas. So if we can, we will do it and if we can’t, we will keep going with what we have.”
In what Arteta calls a “difficult” market, a loan move for Odegaard presents itself as an attractive solution, a short-term option which puts the spotlight on Smith Rowe’s plans to become Ozil’s long-term successor. Should the move come off, it would be a contest watched with great intrigue.
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