Tom Olver
Published April 19, 2026 6:26pm
Updated April 19, 2026 6:55pm
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Patrick Vieira was somewhat surprised to see Martin Odegaard start for Arsenal (Picture: Sky Sports)
Patrick Vieira questioned Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Martin Odegaard in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to title rivals Manchester City, claiming it was a ‘big gamble’ given the midfielder’s recent return from injury.
Odegaard was restored to Arteta’s XI as one of two changes for the visitors, with Gabriel Martinelli dropping out and Kai Havertz starting through the middle in place of Viktor Gyokeres.
Eberechi Eze, who started in the No.10 role against Sporting in midweek, moved out to the left flank to accommodate for Odegaard’s return at the Etihad.
Odegaard had missed the Gunners’ Champions League clash on Wednesday night due to a muscle issue, which he suffered after recovering from a separate knee problem.
But the Norwegian, who reclaimed the captain’s armband from Declan Rice, was a passenger for much of today’s potential title decider, seemingly yet to reach full match fitness following his recent injury woes.
Arsenal had appeared to have dragged themselves back into the top-of-the-table clash, with Gianluigi Donnarumma gifting Arsenal an equaliser through Kai Havertz after Rayan Cherki’s moment of brilliance to open the scoring in a frantic first half.
But Erling Haaland restored City’s lead in the 65th minute and Pep Guardiola’s men – who have a game in hand over Arsenal – held firm to move to within three points of the league leaders.
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Odegaard cut a frustrated figure at the Etihad (Picture: Getty)
Giving his pre-match views in the Sky Sports studio ahead of kick-off, Vieira raised his concerns with Arteta’s bold decision to recall Odegaard to the side.
The Frenchman said: ‘I don’t know if it’s a gamble or not but I believe that maybe during the last couple of weeks, he did enough in training to show the manager that he deserved to start and the manager can count on him.
‘But for big games like that, I personally believe that it can be a big gamble because they will need a lot of intensity because they’re going to run a lot behind the ball and then, of course, quick decisions.
‘You will need to be really good on the ball and he didn’t play a starting game for quite a while so I’m just scared that will be too much for him today.’
Eze moved out to the left to accommodate for Odegaard (Picture: Getty)
Micah Richards, meanwhile, suggested Odegaard’s return at No.10 could limit Eze’s potential contribution in the match – a prediction which was largely proven correct.
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‘I would have gone with running power against Manchester City because they give you chances,’ the ex-Manchester City and England defender explained.
‘But the way Arteta has set up his team, yes, Havertz can hold the ball really well and the timing of his runs is excellent.
‘But Eze is the one who link play as well, keep the ball so when they get in those areas, can they punish Manchester City?
‘In terms of his form, Eze has gone on the left, he’s gone central… I prefer him more centrally, in that maverick role, and the times when Arsenal were conceding early on in the season, it was because he wasn’t doing the defensive work so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out today.’
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