Ethan Nwaneri could offer Arsenal solution as Mikel Arteta faces crucial Martin Odegaard question | OneFootball

Gunners must find creative solutions to break down Leicester without their injured captain

When Mikel Arteta gathered his players at Arsenal’s training ground on Thursday, he handed them a pen and set them a task.

Arteta wanted his players to answer what were the difficulties and challenges they could expect when facing Leicester this weekend.

Naturally, Arteta would not divulge to the assembled media on Friday what answers the players came up with, but it would be no surprise if Martin Odegaard’s name was frequently featured.

Leicester, however, represent a different task. Arsenal have demonstrated how they can manage defensively without Odegaard, changing how they play to stifle their opponents, but now they must do so in attack, too.

Arteta cannot set up his side to sit deep against Leicester and, in fact, that is exactly what the Gunners themselves will have to break down.

How they do that without Odegaard will be telling. The Norwegian is the heartbeat of this Arsenal side and so often the player they look at to open up a defence. Arteta knows that all too well and it is why he has called on his team to adapt in their search for solutions.

Eager to impress: Ethan Nwaneri offers a potential solution for Arsenal without Martin Odegaard

Getty Images

“Obviously the influence that Martin had in our attacking phase is enormous, and we cannot question that,” he said.

“When you look at every metric, the way we plan the games, the types of things that we have to try to do to get him in the spaces where he can be very dangerous for the opponent, it’s key - it’s always in relation to him, basically.

“We don’t have him, so we have to adapt. We have to adapt our way of playing and we have to find other ways to do it that are very efficient. It will be different - it won’t be the same - but hopefully very efficient as well.”

Quite what “different” looks like remains to be seen. The most likely solution is that Kai Havertz drops into midfield and one of Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Jesus leads the line.

Havertz fulfilled that role last season when required, although admittedly that was at a time when he was not excelling quite as much as he is now as a striker.

The desire for many Arsenal fans would be that Ethan Nwaneri is the one Arteta turns to. The 17-year-old impressed on Wednesday against Bolton, scoring twice and living up to the hype that has followed him ever since he made his Premier League debut two years ago aged 15.

Arteta should not be afraid to put his trust in youth

“For sure, we treat them like first-team players because they deserve to be in the position that they are,” he said.

“We have to be conscious that obviously we are managing the development, that that step has been really far, but as well we have to be fair with them, and if they give us the right signs and reasons to play them more, we have to do so.”

Nwaneri is certainly giving the right signs now and, even if he does not start against Leicester, it is easy to envisage a scenario where he is called upon off the bench.

As Arteta says, Arsenal must adapt to life without Odegaard and the same goes for him. He should not be afraid to put his trust in youth.