‘Those two are the key’: Pundit says Arsenal have two players more important than Martin Odegaard

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal have so many fantastic players at their disposal right now.

The likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are two of the most exciting attacking talents in the Premier League, while Martin Odegaard was arguably the best player in England last season.

Odegaard was utterly brilliant against Brighton at the weekend, further underlining his importance to this Arsenal team, but speaking on Premier League Productions, Leroy Rosenior has named two Arsenal players he thinks are more important than Odegaard in the shape of William Saliba and Declan Rice.

Saliba and Rice are so important

Rosenior shared his verdict on these two players.

“When you didn’t have Saliba and you didn’t have Rice I was concerned, but you’re so defensively solid, so structured, they give you strength, they give you the power, the ability. I know we speak about Odegaard, and it was a fantastic performance, but those two are the key, you have to keep them fit,” Rosenior said.

Defence wins you titles

It’s always been said in football that an attack can win you a game and your defence can win you a title, and that rings truer than ever at Arsenal.

The Gunners, in all honesty, have been very flat at times in an offensive sense this season, but they’ve been so sturdy at the back that it hasn’t really mattered.

That’s down to Saliba and Rice.

Saliba has continued to dominate the backline just as he did last season, while Rice has been that added protective screen that has meant that Saliba hasn’t even had to do all that much work.

Arsenal are so sturdy these days, and while it may not be brilliant to watch, it’s incredibly effective in a season where grinding out results seems to be the order of the day.

If Rice and Saliba can stay fit, Arsenal might just win the league.