Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is partly responsible for Martin Odegaard's drop-off in form in recent weeks, but some of the criticism aimed at the Gunners captain has "gone too far", expert Charles Watts believes.
Despite posting a respectable 16 goal contributions from 41 matches this term, the former Real Madrid starlet has endured a rough 2024-25 campaign on the whole, managing just five strikes of his own in all competitions and a paltry two in the Premier League.
Odegaard's display in last week's 1-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg loss to Paris Saint-Germain was lambasted by all corners, as the 26-year-old created just one chance, did not have a single shot and failed with four of his five dribble attempts.
However, Odegaard provided a slick assist for Declan Rice in the weekend's 2-1 Premier League loss to Bournemouth, meaning that he has now set up a goal in three consecutive English top-flight games for the first time in his career after also providing helpers against Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace.
Asked by Sports Mole if the criticism of Odegaard is justified, Watts replied: "It's tough. Is it justified? Not the level of criticism I don't think, or certainly some of the social media rubbish. Comments like 'get out of my club, sell him, take the captaincy off him' all that sort of stuff, it's just absolute rubbish.
"He's not in a good run of form, he's had a largely disappointing season, and certainly of late his form has pretty much fallen off a cliff. You're Arsenal captain, if you get criticised you just got to take it because it comes with a territory, and I'm sure he understands that, but some of the level of criticism has just gone too far, and it's too over the top.
"I also don't think he's been helped by the club and Mikel Arteta. This is a time, when you're as out of form as Odegaard is, to be able to come out the team, be given a bit of a rest and let other people take on the creative burden, the burden of leading the press and doing so much stuff that he has to do in a game, because Arteta doesn't trust anyone else to do that.
"There's got to be a lot of context. This is Arsenal's player of the season the last two seasons. You don't become a bad player overnight - he's an exceptional footballer, a player that I love watching when he's on it - but he also needs a little bit of help and needs protecting it, and he hasn't really had that.
Arsenal "need to learn lessons" from Odegaard form decline
"He's come back from his first serious injury he's ever really suffered, he's basically being asked to play every single week in every single competition because there's no one else who the club trusts to do that job. It's something they need to look at the summer.
"I think they should have looked at it last summer as well. They didn't do that, so they need to learn the lessons as well. But people writing Martin Odegaard off, I would never be in that position. I'd fully expect him to come back next season with a summer rest behind him and just remind us how good a footballer he is."
Of Odegaard's 37 combined appearances in the Premier League and Champions League this season, 32 of them have come from the first whistle, although he was restricted to cameo appearances against Everton and Brentford in the top flight last month.
However, the only times that Odegaard has enjoyed a proper rest has been during injury or illness absences, previously spending almost two months on the sidelines with a severe ankle sprain he picked up on Norway duty during the September international break.
A couple of months after Odegaard's return, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz entered the treatment room with long-term knee and hamstring problems respectively, forcing Mikel Merino to shoulder the attacking burden in that number nine slot.
While Merino has done a praiseworthy job up front, he is not a striker in the same mould as Havertz or Jesus, who are more comfortable drifting over to the right-hand side where the majority of Arsenal's build-up sequences take place.
Watts admits that Havertz's absence in particular has been detrimental to Odegaard, but he also pointed to the terrific exploits of Bruno Fernandes, who continues to shine for a Manchester United side competing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Odegaard compared to Bruno Fernandes amid Arsenal form struggles
© Imago
"The pair of them get on really well, they've got a good understanding," Watts said of Havertz and Odegaard. "You look at the goal he set up at the weekend; I know Declan Rice isn't a striker, but when you've got someone in front of you making a striker's run, Odegaard will find them more often than not because he's got the ability.
"The last game he played for Norway, he got three assists. He's got that quality, but they just haven't had that at Arsenal this season. We haven't had a proper striker since Kai Havertz has gone, and you can question whether Kai Havertz is what you'd call a proper striker anyway.
"Not having Saka for large periods, the White-Saka Odegaard axis being dismantled because of injuries. There's been so many reasons why Odegaard's season hasn't been great, but that's not a full excuse for why his performances have dipped.
"Look at Bruno Fernandes. They've been shambles Man United, they've had so many injuries, but more often than not if someone's going to rescue that team it's going to be Bruno Fernandes, whether it be a goal or assist or something special, and that's where you want Odegaard to be right now.
"When things are down you want him to be able to to change things, and he hasn't been able to do that this season. Individual performances have not been great for him, but there are reasons that you have to talk about when you analyse fully where things have gone wrong for him."
Odegaard's ineffective first-leg display versus PSG means that he has now failed to score or assist in four straight Champions League games, but Arsenal will need their skipper to be on song if they are to turn the semi-final around in Wednesday's second leg.
Arteta received a triple fitness boost in Tuesday's final training session, but Watts can only see one way for Arsenal to set up a tantalising UCL final with Inter Milan in Munich.
Ben Knapton
