Shaun Wright-Phillips has noticed what Arsenal are doing differently following Martin Odegaard’s injury

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Arsenal sit third in the Premier League, but their recent form isn’t actually that great.

The Gunners have won just three of their last six matches, and if it weren’t for some late heroics, they would have also dropped points against Leicester and Southampton too.

Arsenal aren’t playing their best football right now it’s fair to say, and it’s no coincidence that this dip has coincided with Martin Odegaard’s absence from the side.

Odegaard has been out injured in recent weeks after picking up an ankle problem on international duty, and speaking on Premier League Productions, Shaun Wright-Phillips has noted how Arsenal’s style has changed since Odegaard went down injured.

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Arsenal have changed since Martin Odegaard’s injury

Wright-Phillips discussed the impact Odegaard’s injury has had on this Arsenal team.

The pundit claims that Arsenal look like a completely different team without the £30m man, claiming that they’re now more defensive and counter-attacking whereas they would previously have a go at teams.

“When you haven’t got Odegaard in, I think since he got injured the way they have played has been completely different. When I watch them they seem more focused on defending, counter-attacking and set-pieces whereas before they would take the game to anybody. They miss him a lot, and they need to find somebody who can do a similar thing to move the ball up the pitch,” Wright-Phillips said.

Arsenal let their Odegaard replacements go

Arsenal have had to adapt their style in the wake of Odegaard’s injury because they don’t currently have another player who can play in that number 10 position confidently.

However, that wasn’t always the case.

Cast your mind back just a few months, and you’ll remember that Arsenal had multiple players capable of filling in that attacking midfield role.

Emile Smith Rowe is a natural number 10, but he was sold to Fulham this summer. Smith Rowe has since impressed for Fulham.

Meanwhile, Fabio Vieira would’ve been a great Odegaard understudy, but Vieira was loaned out to Porto in the summer.

That’s left Arsenal bare in the creative midfield department, and, sadly, the Gunners are having to play a much more negative brand of football in the absence of Odegaard.