Mikel Arteta says Martin Odegaard gave Arsenal 'another gear' against Brentford after 'difficult' game for Eberechi Eze led to half-time sub

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Mikel Arteta said Martin Odegaard's introduction at half-time in the draw at Brentford on Thursday offered Arsenal "another gear", with the Gunners captain replacing Eberechi Eze, who failed to capitalise on a rare Premier League start. Arsenal missed out on the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points, and Arteta has called on his players to "raise the levels".

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Mikel Arteta said Martin Odegaard offered Arsenal "another gear" in the 1-1 draw away at Brentford after the Gunners captain replaced Eberechi Eze at half-time.

Eze was making his first start in the Premier League since December 13, but was hooked at the break after a lacklustre showing from the visitors, failing to test Caoimhen Kelleher with their only shot in the opening 45 minutes.

The introduction of Odegaard led to a notable improvement, with Arsenal taking the lead thanks to Noni Madueke’s superb header in the 61st minute, following a dominant start to the second period.

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Despite having to settle for the draw after Brentford grew back into the game and equalised through Keane Lewis-Potter, Arteta thought his team offered a greater threat following his half-time change.

"With the way that they were pressing, I think we needed another kind of profile to generate many more problems for them around those areas," the Arsenal boss said.

"I think [Odegaard] came on in the pitch really well and the team had another gear and more threat to arrive to the areas that we wanted to do."

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He added: "The second half, the way we started, we really looked to threat. The way we combined, the way we threatened constantly their backline and the goalkeeper, it was much better."

Since his spectacular hat-trick in the north London derby in November, Eze has failed to score or assist in the Premier League.

He has made just three subsequent starts in the top flight before being confined to appearances from the bench in the last two months.

The former Crystal Palace man was also a half-time casualty in the defeat at Aston Villa at the start of December, replaced by Leandro Trossard after a quiet opening period on the left wing.

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The 27-year-old had the opportunity to start in a more favourable central position at Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday, facilitated by Kai Havertz’s injury this week, and Odegaard returning to the squad following a short spell on the sidelines.

However, Eze was unable to have a significant influence on the proceedings, with Arteta suggesting the style of the match did not play to his strengths.

"Well, I think he had moments," Arteta said. "It's not easy when you move to a new club. It's always like this.

"When you play against a team that is like this and the ball is a lot of times not on the floor, and you have to be constantly breaking the play, especially for attacking and creative players, it's more difficult."

Eze has been given starts in the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in recent weeks, but since registering an assist against Bayern Munich in November, three days after his hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur, he has not offered any goal involvements at all.

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With Odegaard and, in particular, Havertz struggling with injuries this season, Eze may yet be handed more chances in attacking midfield, but while at least one of them is fit, the England international could now find opportunities even more limited during the run-in.

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The draw at Brentford means Arsenal's lead over Manchester City in second drop to just four points, with 12 games left to play this season.

It had looked at one point like The Gunners were heading for a nine-point advantage on Sunday, with City a goal down at Anfield with just seven minutes of normal time left to play.

But Pep Guardiola’s side produced a spirited comeback victory, completed by Erling Haaland's stoppage-time penalty, before cruising past Fulham on Wednesday.

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Arteta insisted his side have to stay calm during the run-in.

"I mean, we’re going to be willing and preparing to win every single match, and the only thing we can do is focus on that," the 43-year-old said.

"We need to raise the levels, collectively and individually, to be better than the opponent every week. That’s going to carry on like this until May. They’re the things we have to do, and that’s the most important thing."

He added: "I understand [the points gap could be bigger], but that’s ‘if, if, if’. If we’d lost at Newcastle, we’d have been eight points behind Liverpool in October.

"So, ‘if, if’, there are a lot of ‘ifs’ over 10 months in this competition. You can only focus on what you have to do, and try to do that in the best possible way."

Arsenal will undoubtedly be wary of the threat of City, having led them by five points at this stage of the season in the 2022/23 campaign before finishing five points short of Guardiola’s title-winners.

They held a slender margin over the champions for much of the run-in the following season, before a slip-up in their 33rd game of the campaign proved costly, as City won their final eight matches.

The pair meet in the Carabao Cup final on March 22 before their clash at Etihad Stadium in what could be a crucial Premier League encounter a month later.

Up next in the league, though, following the FA Cup fourth round, is a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers for Arsenal on Wednesday, while City host Newcastle United next Saturday.

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