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Pundit urges Arsenal to drop Martin Odegaard vs Leeds

By Ritayan Chatterjee on January 27, 2026

Former forward turned pundit Darren Bent, who is also a lifelong Arsenal fan, has urged Mikel Arteta to drop Martin Odegaard for the Gunners’ next Premier League match against Leeds United.

Since moving to the Emirates Stadium from Real Madrid, the Norwegian has established himself as one of the best creative midfielders in the English top flight.

He has even been the Gunners club captain, but has struggled to showcase his best this season. In 23 appearances across all competitions, he has made only five goal contributions thus far.

He was even taken off before the hour mark in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat against Manchester United. Now, on talkSPORT (via Metro), Bent urges Arteta to drop Odegaard from Arsenal’s starting line-up against Leeds next weekend as he has been ‘offering nothing’ in recent games.

Although he showed glimpses of his old self after recovering from his injury, his level has dropped massively. So, Eberechi Eze should start over the coming four or five matches.

Bent said:

“Next weekend in the Premier League, Odegaard out. Out! Honestly, out. After Eze had that impact against Tottenham, where he was unbelievable, Odegaard came back in and he was better and I thought, “Okay, we’re going to get the Odegaard back from two years ago”, but he’s gone back to himself. He’s offering nothing. Give Eze four or five games.”

During the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, Odegaard was outstanding in the Premier League, making 22 and 18 goal contributions, respectively. However, his level started dropping from last term, tallying only 11 goals and assists.

Pundit slams Odegaard

Because of the 27-year-old’s dip in form, Arsenal have struggled to create opportunities from open play; as a result, they have been heavily relying on the set-piece situations to score goals.

The North London club even failed to create many chances from open play vs the 20-time English champions last weekend.

The North Londoners will be hoping that Odegaard can return to his best as quickly as possible and guide the club to major silverware at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, although Odegaard has struggled for Arsenal, he has showcased his qualities on the international stage, guiding Norway to reach next summer’s World Cup.