Odegaard tried to influence proceedings. (Photo by Mike Lawrence/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
2. Martin Odegaard
The Norwegian was quiet for periods, especially when he was expected to drop deep and influence Arsenal’s build-up. It’s not yet his forte. When he was used in a more advanced position on the pitch, the difference was distinct. He was much better and showed flashes of brilliance.
In tight spaces, Odegaard is insanely good. He always seems to find a way to squeeze the ball through and had a few brilliant combinations with teammates.
In many ways, Odegaard is the opposite of Kevin De Bruyne. The Nordic magician’s subtlety contrasts the Belgian’s devastation.
Of course, Odegaard still has that killer pass in his own way, but it is very different to De Bruyne’s crossing. He delivered a beautiful pass by flicking it over the back of the United defence and also slipped Eddie Nketiah through with a quick, cunning free-kick.
He was also playing with two new teammates. As Arteta said, when they play 55 times together it will flow better. But there should be no worries or doubts over Martin Odegaard. He is the real deal for Arsenal and will be for years to come.
Continued on the next slide…
here). That being said, there were poor individual performances in New Jersey.</p>
<p>Kai Havertz didn’t particularly look comfortable in his position, though he did drift into a good position and could have scored with a second-half header. However, for me, this game fueled the argument that Havertz will not be used as a midfielder by Arteta.</p>
<p>Declan Rice also had a weak performance and looked like he was struggling on the pitch. The two new signings weren’t bad necessarily, but they lacked cohesion with the rest of the group, something that you would expect.</p>
<h2>3 standout players in the pre-season defeat to Man Utd</h2>
<p>Let’s now get into the players that stood out for the right reasons.</p>
<p>https://twitter.com/ArsenalBuzzCom/status/1683013634543304705</p>
<h2>1. Jurrien Timber</h2>
<p>In reality, it wasn’t the strongest showing from Timber either in the game. He made a brilliant pass to Bukayo Saka who then put in a cross that Gabriel Martinelli should have finished was his best moment of the contest, but it wasn’t a particular moment that made him stand out.</p>
<p>Instead, it was his technical security in the build-up phase. He seems like the most Arteta signing out of the three players as he looked so confident and assured on the ball.</p>
<p>William Saliba is one of the best and most confident defenders in the world on the ball, so this combination is going to be deadly over the next year – whenever Timber gets minutes.</p>
<p>At one point in the first half, Saliba and Timber were getting pressed by three United players and didn’t have many options. Still, as a fan watching at home, it felt like the United players were outnumbered.</p>
<p>Timber played an easy pass to Saliba, who dummied, turned and carried the ball away imperiously. The ease at which these two combine will make teams very hesitant on pressing high because, well, what would be the point?</p>
<p>The Dutchman already looks like a proper Arsenal player.</p>
<p>Continued on the next slide…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 standout performer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_135481" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135481" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1065,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1564315885.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1065" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1564315885.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1564315885-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1564315885-1536x1022.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Odegaard tried to influence proceedings. (Photo by Mike Lawrence/ISI Photos/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>2. Martin Odegaard</h2>
<p>The Norwegian was quiet for periods, especially when he was expected to drop deep and influence Arsenal’s build-up. It’s not yet his forte. When he was used in a more advanced position on the pitch, the difference was distinct. He was much better and showed flashes of brilliance.</p>
<p>In tight spaces, Odegaard is insanely good. He always seems to find a way to squeeze the ball through and had a few brilliant combinations with teammates.</p>
<p>In many ways, Odegaard is the opposite of Kevin De Bruyne. The Nordic magician’s subtlety contrasts the Belgian’s devastation.</p>
<p>Of course, Odegaard still has that killer pass in his own way, but it is very different to De Bruyne’s crossing. He delivered a beautiful pass by flicking it over the back of the United defence and also slipped <a title="Folarin Balogun or Eddie Nketiah? Arsenal’s striker conundrum" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/06/26/balogun-nketiah-arsenal-striker-choice/" rel="">Eddie Nketiah</a> through with a quick, cunning free-kick.</p>
<p>He was also playing with two new teammates. As Arteta said, when they play 55 times together it will flow better. But there should be no worries or doubts over Martin Odegaard. He is the real deal for Arsenal and will be for years to come.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"When they play 55 times together it will be better, they will flow better, they will understand each other better"</p>
<p>Mikel Arteta on the midfield trio of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz ⬇️ <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://t.co/lQl88l4j69">pic.twitter.com/lQl88l4j69
<p>— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1683001156681736193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 23, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Continued on the next slide…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 standout performer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_135480" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135480" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-arsenal-players-stood-out-defeat-man-utd/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1548118700-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1548118700-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1548118700-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1548118700-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1548118700-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Trossard appeared off the bench on Saturday. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>3. Leandro Trossard</h2>
<p>Just a short cameo from Trossard this time, but he had enough time to showcase his quality. Emile Smith Rowe also came on along the Belgian and looked tidy. Their combinations and position switches were actually quite impressive and exciting.</p>
<p>It’s a shame for Trossard that Martinelli is, for now, the undisputed starter down the left after his excellent season, but incredible for Arsenal that they have a player of Trossard’s quality who can slip in anywhere through the front line when called upon.</p>
<p>Yesterday, as with every one of his performances, Trossard highlighted his technical quality and his creativity. He can often solve problems with quick thinking and feet.</p>
<div class="embed ">
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<p>Arteta must give Leandro enough minutes this season to keep players like Martinelli on their toes and well-rested and to keep him happy. He is too good of a player not to get minutes.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
