It’s more than just Rice and Odegaard’s quality on the ball Arsenal will miss
Emmanuel Petit is worried a north London derby defeat for Arsenal could kill their title ambitions.
Mikel Arteta’s side will go into the clash against Tottenham on Sunday without Declan Rice and skipper Martin Odegaard, two vital players in the midfield.
Rice is out of Sunday’s trip to Tottenham due to suspension while Gunners skipper Odegaard suffered an ankle injury during international duty with Norway.
Manager Arteta will also be without summer signing Mikel Merino and defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney, with Gabriel Jesus and Riccardo Calafiori under injury clouds, too.
But it is Rice and Odegaard who will be the biggest absentees given their vital roles in Arsenal‘s midfield.
And Petit, who featured 118 times for Arsenal, holds grave fears about the drop-off in quality from the pair to whoever will replace them, especially in a clash against bitter rivals Tottenham.
Speaking ahead of episode 1 of The Line Up, a brand new YouTube show bought to you by talkSPORT & BetMGM, he said: “I’m pretty sure that Arteta and his staff have been scratching their heads trying to find the best solution, especially in midfield.
“In modern football, you win games in the midfield most of the times. Those two guys are leaders, Rice and Odegaard. I’m very, very upset they won’t be here on Sunday because in terms of rotation, it’s already quite limited for Arteta.”
Petit added that it’s not just the technical abilities of Rice and Odegaard Arsenal will miss, either.
“This game will be very important and they will be missing those guys hugely on the pitch and in the dressing room as well,” Petit said.
“In terms of putting character and personality on the pitch, winning the ball, trying to support the pressure from the fans, that will be something missing for Arsenal.”
Italian midfielder Jorginho looms as a likely replacement for Rice while Kai Havertz may drop back into midfield to fill the void left by Odegaard, which would force another re-shuffle up top.
No matter how Arteta shapes his squad for Sunday’s derby, he will be desperate to avoid defeat given a bumper fixture on the horizon.
Once Arsenal’s match against Tottenham is complete, they travel to Europa League winners Atalanta for a midweek Champions League fixture.
Days later, they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face defending Premier League champions Manchester City on September 22.
Safe to say, it is not an ideal run of fixtures, especially with key players absent, and could prove decisive in the title race.
5
Petit noted City also had their own injury issues last season as the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne missed 14 and 28 games respectively.
But the 1998 Arsenal double winner pointed out that City had the depth and quality to cope with their absences but Arsenal, in his opinion, do not.
It could prove to be a fatal blow to their title hopes, just five games into the season.
“City started poorly (last season) and they were missing big players during the season, but they won the title,” Petit said.
“I’m not sure that can be possible for Arsenal in terms of quality and quantity of players. That’s what I’ve been worried about for ages, the rotation of the team.
5
“Now they are back in the Champions League again. Playing every single three days, international duty as well with your country, that means you need to get rotation in your team.
“When you get important players injured, what’s the solution for Arteta? He’s got players, but not in the same position and who cannot bring the same qualities on the pitch.”
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding Arsenal in terms of their absentees and the implications of what a loss could mean to their title aspirations, Petit is hopeful his old team can get it done.
Petit is no stranger to the north London derby having featured in five and had a record of one win, one defeat and three draws.
Arsenal did beat Tottenham a second time during Petit’s stint at the club, but he was not in the matchday squad.
5
Given he only beat Tottenham once, it should come as no surprise what Petit’s favourite memory of a north London derby is as Arsenal look to recreate a similar feat on Sunday.
“Winning 3-1 away at White Hart Lane,” Petit said. “I scored. It was a great pass from Dennis Bergkamp.”
A great pass from Bergkamp it was, as the Dutch icon played a defence-splitting ball in the path of Petit who had bombed forward from midfield.
Petit controlled the ball with his left foot and then lifted it over the on-rushing Ian Walker via his right peg to open the scoring.
Goals from Nicolas Anelka and Nwankwo Kanu either side of Tottenham midfielder Darren Anderton’s strike ensured Arsenal left White Hart Lane with all three points.
It will be a tough ask for the Gunners to replicate the feat on Sunday.
Don’t miss episode 1 of The Line Up bought to you by talkSPORT & BetMGM. Available on the talkSPORT YouTube channel on Tuesday 17 September
5
JOIN THE DUGOUT
Have your say on all things talkSPORT by joining ‘The DUGOUT’ – our new listener panel.
We’re all about diving deep into your perspectives, and making sure talkSPORT is the absolute best it can be. Your voice matters, and we want to hear it!
Pitch your game-changing ideas, and join in with fun surveys, polls, and locker-room discussions.
Just by joining, you’ll enter a prize draw to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers, with another prize draw entry for every survey you complete after that
To join the ‘The DUGOUT’ panel, please click here.