‘Just bullsh*t’ – Paul Scholes claims Martin Odegaard ‘doesn’t play his position properly’ as Arsenal face ‘big problem’

Arsenal secured a vital 1-0 win over Newcastle last weekend to keep their title hopes alive, but the performance did little to convince Scholes. The former United midfielder argued that Odegaard is frequently dropping too deep, disrupting the balance of a side that is already struggling to maintain fluidity in the middle of the park.

Speaking on The Overlap, Scholes was blunt about the skipper’s positioning. “That game on Saturday [against Newcastle], I didn’t see all of it, I probably saw the first half an hour, but I think Odegaard is a big problem for them,” he said. “I love Odegaard, I think he’s brilliant. Technically, he’s great, but he doesn’t play his position properly. Half the time I saw him in the first 20 minutes he was almost the deepest man. That football, it’s just bulls**t.

“Whether they’ve been told that or not, Odegaard is a No.10, Odegaard connects your midfield to your forward play. You wonder why there’s no flow in your team when he’s behind Martin Zubimendi, he’s behind Declan Rice. How can you get connections there?”