**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Watching him in general, you notice how he's always looking up and around at the whole pitch at every opportunity. Just the slightest glance up and he immediately pings that ball to Xhaka. The quick pass over the top was sublime technique, but the vision is what makes him so effective.
yea, i never really watched him play before his loan at arsenal (bought him on FM every time tho lol), but since day 1 i noticed how insane his positioning is.
he's always asking for the ball while moving into space. him putting his arms up every single possession is almost iconic. funny thing is when I watched couple bits from him in other clubs he was doing that as well
absolutely love these type of players, never hiding from the game regardless if they are playing well or not.
Understanding whats going on and whats going to happen is definitely a skill but every midfielder looks around all the time. It's drilled into them from childhood.
Maybe I worded it poorly, the speed at which he makes high quality decisions based on what he sees is the exceptional skill. He's consistently finding the quickest route to a goal scoring opportunity because of his vision and ability to pass into spaces that other players wouldn't act quick enough to find.
Football prodigy. I remember thinking that him and Hachim Mastour would be battling it for the Ballon D’or this time lmao. At least one of them turned out decent
He’s not. He just has the work rate, pressing, and leadership traits that Ozil did not. Ozil’s match awareness and ability to find spaces was legendary.
Work rate and pressing literally involves match awareness lol. There’s a lot more to vision and match awareness than playing a couple neat passes per game the couple times ur asked to actually come receive the ball.
It actually makes me laugh picturing Ozil try to play Odegaard’s role and still be a positive factor in the attack. What minute do you think he fakes an injury get subbed out?
yeah and that was about it, i prefer a jack of all trades to a player like Özil who is worldclass at a few aspects of the game and mediocre at best at the rest of them
Exactly. Can't believe this is downvoted. I swear every player becomes 20% better in the eyes of social media immediately after retirement.
See what Odegaard does in our big games and what Ozil did against Bayern, at Old Trafford, etc.
people on here don‘t really think too much about the tactical aspect of the game, it‘s always the same lmao
Özil has always been useless defensively, it‘s not even meant as a critic, it‘s just a fact
Exactly. Many fans and pundits alike went on about Arsenal not having a steel spine or toughness and so on and so forth. Having world class but luxury players like Ozil certainly didn't help with that perception under late Arsene
Özil was a superb playermaker and his vision was unmatched, but I don’t think he read the whole game as well as Fabregas, Arteta, Ødegaard as his focus was basically only ever on attacking.
He read the game in an offensive possession better than anyone of the last decade.
The issue with him is that if u have 21 years old ozil right now u will need to build the team around him.
I think its worth it tho he is so good at real madrid and his early years at arsenal. I think people just forgot how good he was
I would actually put saka in the conversation as well. Wingers aren’t typically lauded for their intelligence but saka understands football enough to the point he has played RW, LW, LB, LWB, and even LCM to an incredible level.
Too many matches a season. No reason for them to play every league match when they were already over 30. And they weren't winning leagues nor cups, 'only' the UCL. In fact, for some years that very midfield did relatively poorly in the league, usually finishing below both Barça and Atletico. There was absolutely room to try a blue chip prospect, but Zidane was just too conservative
Xavi and Iniesta had much less risk-taking license, so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison to the freeform 10 role Ozil played for both Arsenal and Madrid. Xavi could see and execute pretty much any pass, but his primary job was to maintain possession at all costs.
I gotta disagree there, Xavi and Iniesta are the best dribblers I have seen as midfielders and their vision was one of a kind, Ozil is up there in that category but not ahead of them
I would gladly take that. Before then Liverpool are somehow going to turn into the globetrotters next week at Anfield, and then there’s the Etihad at the end of the month.
It looked like Ode was bloody irritated at the slow pace and constantly coming back to collect the ball... then saw Xakha and pinged it to him. What a beautiful cross.
This man is probably better than any we had in the past decade in that midfield. Just wow.
Anfield, St. james Park, the etihad....there's a lot of tough games left. For us to pull of 95 points, we can only draw two games. Too soon to say that.
If we keep up the good recruitment and manage to resign our main guys and keep arteta around, we could be a force.
I really enjoy this team. Which means a lot, cause I can recall having Santos as a defender. I’m sure so can others. Happy for Xhaka, I always thought we took him for Granit.
im new and dont know how to flair mate but i can assure you i have witnessed the massacres of jenkinson, chamakh, sanogo, andre santos, gervinho and jeffers
95 points secures us the title (as of right now). Max we can get is 99. Max City can get is 94.
Basically going to go to the end of the season unless City drop more points
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Three games in a row right?
Yup 3 in 3 for Xhaka
I’ve always liked him. Even when he gave me and other gooners the finger for booing him off against Palace.🙄
Also one in two with the national team.
7 Premier League wins in a row🤭
Going for vardys record
Odegaard wtf
Was watching his movement off the ball, I’m convinced he’s a footballing genius
New Bergkamp
Bergkamp? You mean old Odegaard?
Let’s not get too crazy
Relax
watching off ball movement from players like him is always a blast
Watching him in general, you notice how he's always looking up and around at the whole pitch at every opportunity. Just the slightest glance up and he immediately pings that ball to Xhaka. The quick pass over the top was sublime technique, but the vision is what makes him so effective.
yea, i never really watched him play before his loan at arsenal (bought him on FM every time tho lol), but since day 1 i noticed how insane his positioning is. he's always asking for the ball while moving into space. him putting his arms up every single possession is almost iconic. funny thing is when I watched couple bits from him in other clubs he was doing that as well absolutely love these type of players, never hiding from the game regardless if they are playing well or not.
Understanding whats going on and whats going to happen is definitely a skill but every midfielder looks around all the time. It's drilled into them from childhood.
Maybe I worded it poorly, the speed at which he makes high quality decisions based on what he sees is the exceptional skill. He's consistently finding the quickest route to a goal scoring opportunity because of his vision and ability to pass into spaces that other players wouldn't act quick enough to find.
Remember watching him at 15 in Eliteserien, he was so absurdly smart
Football prodigy. I remember thinking that him and Hachim Mastour would be battling it for the Ballon D’or this time lmao. At least one of them turned out decent
It was him and Allen hallilovic
dont even know who Hachim is lmao
Skills merchant
Probably the player with the best “football brain” we’ve had since Arteta, or perhaps even Fabregas. Special talent.
You're doing Ozil dirty there. He may not have been an all-rounder but his vision was almost unmatched by anyone this century.
Going forward? Yes. Anything going the opposite direction? He wasn’t concerned.
he had the forward vision, but in terms of overall awareness of the game, Ødegaard is very clear of Özil
He’s not. He just has the work rate, pressing, and leadership traits that Ozil did not. Ozil’s match awareness and ability to find spaces was legendary.
Özil was literally useless going backwards. Ode is tactically much more adept
Work rate and pressing literally involves match awareness lol. There’s a lot more to vision and match awareness than playing a couple neat passes per game the couple times ur asked to actually come receive the ball. It actually makes me laugh picturing Ozil try to play Odegaard’s role and still be a positive factor in the attack. What minute do you think he fakes an injury get subbed out?
No way haha. Love odegaard but overall awareness? Ozils ability to find space was so special
yeah and that was about it, i prefer a jack of all trades to a player like Özil who is worldclass at a few aspects of the game and mediocre at best at the rest of them
Exactly. Can't believe this is downvoted. I swear every player becomes 20% better in the eyes of social media immediately after retirement. See what Odegaard does in our big games and what Ozil did against Bayern, at Old Trafford, etc.
people on here don‘t really think too much about the tactical aspect of the game, it‘s always the same lmao Özil has always been useless defensively, it‘s not even meant as a critic, it‘s just a fact
Exactly. Many fans and pundits alike went on about Arsenal not having a steel spine or toughness and so on and so forth. Having world class but luxury players like Ozil certainly didn't help with that perception under late Arsene
Ozil? Cazorla too
Not a certain German that you signed from Real Madrid, mate?
No because odegard also has awareness defensively as well. Going forward though ozil was better
Özil was a superb playermaker and his vision was unmatched, but I don’t think he read the whole game as well as Fabregas, Arteta, Ødegaard as his focus was basically only ever on attacking.
Ozil’s ability to manipulate space through running is underrated. Just don’t ask him to press in a structure.
He read the game in an offensive possession better than anyone of the last decade. The issue with him is that if u have 21 years old ozil right now u will need to build the team around him. I think its worth it tho he is so good at real madrid and his early years at arsenal. I think people just forgot how good he was
I would actually put saka in the conversation as well. Wingers aren’t typically lauded for their intelligence but saka understands football enough to the point he has played RW, LW, LB, LWB, and even LCM to an incredible level.
Absolutely not lmao
He's magnificent
He reminds me a lot of Michael Laudrup. And Bryan Laudrup.
Nice idea quadruple teaming saka
And he still found Odegaard in acres of space ☠️
still didnt contain him either
Gravity of a star
well if triple teaming doesn't work on Saka, the only logical solution has to be to keep adding on defenders.
Reminds of that scene in the Matrix when Smith keeps calling for more Smiths. [MORE!](https://i.imgur.com/e9uRblG.gif)
Ode. You are my fav. Please do more of this. Saka pulled 4 players there. Lol.
Wow what a sexy pass from Ode. He is one the most skilled player I have seen
ALL WE ARE SAYINGGGGG IS WE ROBBED MADRIDDDDDDDD
They did right by the player. that’s it.
And we love them for it. Honestly our trade relationship with Real is really good
Only reason he couldn’t break into the team was because we had one of if not the best midfield trios of all time. Always knew he’d be a great player
He wasn't really given chances either
How can u give him a chance when the midfield 3 is the main reason your team is winning trophies left and right
Too many matches a season. No reason for them to play every league match when they were already over 30. And they weren't winning leagues nor cups, 'only' the UCL. In fact, for some years that very midfield did relatively poorly in the league, usually finishing below both Barça and Atletico. There was absolutely room to try a blue chip prospect, but Zidane was just too conservative
> we had one of if not the best midfield trios of all time. Had?????
why even mention this They did Ode a favour by not locking him up
I agree. Any other team and I don't think he is with us.
Real Madrid doesnt keep players that wants to leave.
So many things to say and you go with that?
Agree. People say he can't do what Özil did, I don't agree
Ozil can't do half of Odegaard defensive duties lmao
I agree with that but Ozil’s vision was top top tier
Which is the point, they're comparing only the position but they're 2 different players entirely in how they see the game.
So is Odegaards but with far less drawbacks
> Ozil’s vision was top top tier Ødegaards vision is at the same tier
Not yet, Ozil was giving passes you couldn’t even see. He was in the same class as Xavi and Iniesta in that regard
Xavi was a brilliant playmaker, but he was also one of the players that ran the most during the games.
Ozil was way ahead of Xavi and Iniesta honestly, the only guy who compares as a playmaker is Messi
Xavi and Iniesta had much less risk-taking license, so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison to the freeform 10 role Ozil played for both Arsenal and Madrid. Xavi could see and execute pretty much any pass, but his primary job was to maintain possession at all costs.
I gotta disagree there, Xavi and Iniesta are the best dribblers I have seen as midfielders and their vision was one of a kind, Ozil is up there in that category but not ahead of them
Ødegaard is the same
Half? Ozil was better going forward but Jesus christ the man was useless defensively
Basically a very hardworking ozil
I don’t disagree.. I think Özil had a little more elegance to him
Still think Ozil was a bit better individually, but if Odegaard captains Arsenal to a league title then nobody can really talk to him.
> Still think Ozil was a bit better individually How? I literally don't see this. How was Özil superior technically and individually?
Ozil is really getting underrated everywhere because his career kind of faded out. But those who watched him regularly know.
I watched Ozil regularly when God was a boy mate. He's not better than Ødegaard.
smh everyone is doing 4-1 on april 1st
Aww wtf
Odegaard casually strolling the entire half then puts this ball😳
Saka's GRAVITY
Curry effect
Saka 🤝🏼 Gravity 🤝🏼 Curry
I know 4-1 is objective better in the league table than 3-0, but it feels way closer to a complete dicking than 3-0 does
Because they scored 4 goals and that usually is the minimum of a goalfest
Why is it better?
Tiebreaker for points is GD -> Goals Scored 4-1 is same GD but more Goals scored so is technically slightly better.
Ah gotcha. Didn't think that far ahead
Great cross, great header
Sublime
i dont practice santeria
I ain't got no crystal ball
Well, I had a million dollars but I'd, I'd spend it all
the 4 or 5 leeds players following saka left so much space for odegaard
Arsenal is pain in my assholes. We win 4-1. They win 4-1.
We break financial rules: They cannot afford, great success!
LMAO
🔥🌶️
You have more than one asshole?
It's from Borat lol
... how did I not catch that? I've seen that film so many times lol. My bad.
Happens my man
What a ball Odegaard
This title is going down to the last game isn't it? I'm not sure I can handle it.
I would gladly take that. Before then Liverpool are somehow going to turn into the globetrotters next week at Anfield, and then there’s the Etihad at the end of the month.
Mathematically yes. But if we come through Newcastle away with a bit of a lead, I think we do it.
Watch Newcastle waste a full half on the clock and get away with 2mins injury time. Again.
Oh of course. They'll be faking head injuries all game. Blatant cheating that doesn't get punished
Box to box Xhaka hit differentttt
Xhadow Striker
Brillant
And breathe again.
Holy fuck Ø
Høly fuck!
This man is such a fighter. No matter how much criticism he gets he never stops trying. Great mentality
What a ball, and a great header
Ah he is genuinely happy - love seeing it
Saka literally is a star.
It looked like Ode was bloody irritated at the slow pace and constantly coming back to collect the ball... then saw Xakha and pinged it to him. What a beautiful cross. This man is probably better than any we had in the past decade in that midfield. Just wow.
my friend, is not ok yes?
Arsenal “not at their best” FC
Few weeks ago we were worrying about GD. What an amazing few weeks it has been
I mean, we're still worrying about GD (just a bit less).
Martin you make me Odehaard
WE ARE SO GOOD IT SHOULD BE OUTLAWED
The best football we have played since the Invincibles era. What a season
Don't forget the 2007/08 season. That was sexy football at its peak. So unfortunate we didn't win.
I choose to suppress that season after that Eduardo leg break.
This guy man lol
granit xhaka the arsenal legend
Odegaard what in the fuck are you doing they had a family
Saka pulling four players, odegaard with the great ball and xhaka with the headed finish. This arsenal team is one of the all time greats.
Nah we've done absolutely nothing yet
This team is on a roll and Man City is the only tough fixture. Arsenal could very likely end the season with 95+ points.
Anfield, St. james Park, the etihad....there's a lot of tough games left. For us to pull of 95 points, we can only draw two games. Too soon to say that. If we keep up the good recruitment and manage to resign our main guys and keep arteta around, we could be a force.
Peach of a cross that
Can we please start acknowledging that Odegaard is one of the five best midfielders in the world right now? Dude is playing out of his mind..
I love striker Xhaka
That was dirty from Ode
Lovely header
Another gorgeous team goal!
Been wayy overdue a Xhaka banger
Cute goal. Odegaard with a perfect ball and just cleanly drifting into the space from xhaka
Fifa still wont give him a TOTW
Don't give him a TOTW, I'd rather have him in community TOTS
Me too man.
I really enjoy this team. Which means a lot, cause I can recall having Santos as a defender. I’m sure so can others. Happy for Xhaka, I always thought we took him for Granit.
Santos? That's a weak man's game. Squillaci, now that's where the horror's at.
WE ARE WINNING THE LEAGUE THERE I SAID IT
Anal Mustafa
im a reddit nobody i cant jinx artetas tricky reds
Anula mufa
mustafi anal😳
ANAL MUSTAFI
I DONT LIKE ANAL
Anal Mustafi
STOP TRYING TO JINX IT
WE HAVE SUFFERED FAR TOO LONG
Keep your mouth shut. Focus on next game!!
No flair winning the league
im new and dont know how to flair mate but i can assure you i have witnessed the massacres of jenkinson, chamakh, sanogo, andre santos, gervinho and jeffers
[Here you go fam](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/wiki/flair/)
thanks blud🥹
Gotta be nice every once in a while. *Hopes Santa notices this time*
*Santa notices and gives you more than a gift😏*
We are kicking you back out for disrespecting the Archbishop of Banterbury
noo😔
Saka literally attracted four defenders
Arsenal legend :D
Perfectly weighted by Odegaard
how many passes in the build up?
What a pass
Girl machine Granit Xhaka
This script is getting boring.
Meslier not even trying lmao
Stunner
For arsenal at least, Odeegard > Ozil.
What happens when u throw ur whole team on saka
CF Xhaka
I think he's going to score again tonight
How more games until Arsenal mathematically secure the Premiere League title?
95 points secures us the title (as of right now). Max we can get is 99. Max City can get is 94. Basically going to go to the end of the season unless City drop more points
So cool to see him thriving under Arteta!
u/savevideo
when you see Saka gallop like that, its over
Suck it Leeds.