Troy Deeney has questioned Arsenal’s decision to sell Emile Smith Rowe and believes the midfielder could have been the player to come in and replace the injured Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard, 25, has emerged as a major doubt ahead of Arsenal’s north London derby clash with Tottenham after sustaining an ankle injury during Norway’s Nations League win over Austria.
The Arsenal captain had to be helped off the pitch by Norway’s medical staff in Oslo and was later seen walking with the aid of crutches as he boarded a flight back to England.
It leaves Mikel Arteta will a potential headache ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Spurs, with Declan Rice suspended and summer signing Mikel Merino also missing through injury.
On Odegaard’s injury, ex-Watford striker Deeney told talkSPORT: ‘I think it will be a monumental miss.
‘Arsenal got lucky over the last two years with no one getting injured and no one really missing any big games through suspension.
‘This week will probably be the first time they will be without two massive players through injury and suspension so we’ll see how they deliver.’
Deeney feels Arsenal could be ruing their decision to sell Smith Rowe to Fulham given he could have been the ideal ‘stop-gap’ should Odegaard be set for a spell on the sidelines.
‘This is where the frustration is with some Arsenal fans I know, in terms of letting go of Emile Smith Rowe,’ he added.
‘He’s not the same player as Odegaard by any stretch by he would certainly offer a stop-gap in that moment.
‘Now, you probably would have to start looking at dropping [Kai] Havertz back a bit, maybe put [Gabriel] Jesus in there but he’s injured as well o there’s a few little tweaks that will have to be done.’
According to Deeney, Manchester City’s strength in depth is what sets the champions apart from the likes of Arsenal in the Premier League.
He continued: ‘For Declan Rice they’ve obviously got Jorginho who can come in. He’s not the same type of player but will keep the ball and he’ll do well in the Champions League games.
‘But I just think when you look at it, Arsenal’s XI is very, very good but after that you just start to go, “Oh, if one of the centre-backs gets injured they might be struggling here, if the right-back gets injured it’s not the same”.
‘I think that’s where Manchester City are just a level above everybody.’
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