Jamie Carragher and Mikel Arteta agree on new role for Arsenal star to unleash Eberechi Eze

Mikel Arteta made a Martin Odegaard tactical tweak against Olympiacos which saw the Arsenal captain named player of the match for his side's Champions League victory. The Norway international was making his first start for the Gunners in nearly three weeks on Wednesday evening.

Injury problems and form have seen Odegaard endure an inconsistent last 12 months, but Arteta may have finally cracked the code to unlock him and also deep blocks. Through deploying him in a free-roaming role, the 26-year-old has been able to get on the ball much more and also closer to goal.

Speaking on his first-half display, Arteta said: "He's got all the licence in the world to go forward, Martin, and to play with that freedom, and to play with that level of threat, especially, not only with the passes, but the way he was taking the ball, carrying the ball, making runs and arriving in really dangerous areas.

"I think he put three people through today to score a goal. He should have scored a goal as well. So, great to have him back. He played some very good minutes in Newcastle to help us to win the game, and I think today he was phenomenal."

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was also complimentary of Odegaard as he noticed a very different tweak that allowed him to pull the strings. “He didn’t do the pressing he normally does, which gave him more time. I think it’s a better set-up. He was quite magnificent, really making Arsenal tick," he admitted on TNT Sport.

Arteta referenced his very bright cameo and assist in the final stages of the win against Newcastle United, which saw him in a deeper role that Jamie Carragher believed brought the very best out of him.

"In terms of the set-up, what was really interesting was that Odegaard found himself deeper after [Martin] Zubimendi came off," he said on Sky Sports Monday Night Football. "He went into that deeper role, he was fantastic and changed the game. In the build-up to the first goal, Declan Rice is clever but he [Odegaard] is pulling the strings."

Later on in his examination of Arsenal's two goals, he said: "I want to go back to this man, Martin Odegaard, who I think changed the game when he came on. He knows a pass from Declan Rice is coming so he is already scanning where he can hurt Newcastle.

"He's seen that space between the two Newcastle defenders and that is absolutely where his pass goes, can he thread the eye of the needle? Yes [he can]. Myles Lewis-Skelly has made that run."

In games that Arsenal are chasing or expected to dominate, Odegaard being given such a role seems almost guaranteed given his recent displays. That could allow for Eberechi Eze to become a regular starter in central areas.

The summer signing from Crystal Palace has mostly been deployed on the left, but this alteration could see him used much more frequently in the No.10 role.

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