Odegaard VS Ozil, Fabregas & Cazorla

Martin Odegaard’s been in phenomenal form! As he captains Arsenal into a 2nd title race, where does he rank among three other world class creative midfielders at Arsenal?
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[@TheGoonerverse]

Who’s your favourite of the four?

[@farhanmaqsood7001]

Close between Fabregas and Ozil. for the benefit of our beloved arsenal we should wish Ode emulates the class of Ozil and career trophy haul of Fabregas :D

[@LawrenceHermes]

Cazorla, dribble was unreal

[@killabuddha88]

Fabregas all day long, 2 best passers Arsenal have had are Bergkamp and Cesc, the rest don't possess these 2's vision and execution

[@antidumbcomments]

Odegaard. The others played in teams that were sources of such stress 😂

[@arsenalsean]

Ozil

[@roncho807]

Cazorla was unreal. He could dribble through the midfield and gain territory advancing the attack repeatedly!!! He was my favourite player!!!

[@ikeman9784]

Spot on. My favorite arsenal player of all time. And interestingly he was absolutely magical the last time we won at the Etihad.. How we could use a performance like that next week by odegaard..

[@GuzuSparta-zf1pu]

Cazorla still my fav..

[@yahyabaker4954]

If only RVP stayed that summer… would have loved to see him and santi together

[@TheGoonerverse]

Wonderful player

[@eddietee6305]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. James doesn't know who is a dribbler. Santi is my guy. Will always be. He was ambipedal too. Rare.

[@TwistedSoul2002]

To paraphrase Schopenhauer: Cesc can hit a pass no one else can hit; Mesut can hit a pass no one else can see.

[@CrazyInsanelikeafox]

Nobody passed the ball like Dennis Bergkamp.

[@paulj8803]

I've watched and studied these 2 players for a long time. This quote sums them up really well.

[@andrewsikaja2937]

@@CrazyInsanelikeafox Not even Ozil?

[@In_my_own_mind]

Odegaard should have had way way more assists than he has in every club he has played really. He has created most chances in open play out of any player in Europe, so that tells you that he should’ve had a lot more assists. That shows assist-stats is sometimes misleading. Odegaard also leads the Premier League for through-balls completed. This puts him above the likes of Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala and Europe’s best creative players, and he is on a world-class level when it comes to creativity. Arsenal’s forwards have failed to convert the vast majority of chances that Odegaard has created, and in addition to his playmaking, he consistently covers the most ground of his teammates

[@ikeman9784]

You're so right. Odegaards big chance creation rate is the best in Europe. It's a shame a lot of it get wasted. I had this argument with a friend about who's world class in the arsenal team. My response: Odegaard is the only player in this present arsenal squad that's a world class talent. The rest are very good and performing together at world class level.

[@farhanmaqsood7001]

No gaslighting only logical reasoning put out and letting us form our opinion. Brilliant work James

[@TheGoonerverse]

Exactly what I was going for! Wanted to be balanced cos you could argue for all of them. Thank you so much 🙏

[@farhanmaqsood7001]

@@TheGoonerverse Love the content here and overall how you present your opinion through various shows everywhere. Spl mention to Lee's fav tactical insight show. :D :P

[@priyesh0071]

It was Santi's free kick which allowed us to equalise and then win our first FA Cup (after 10 years).. It was HIS SOLO performance away at Peak City making us win 2-1...Harry Rednap said U can't get the ball off from him in a Phone booth, he played thay well against Spuds. And remember all we got him for was merely 10M... Santi was SPECIAL, he was a mix breed of Xavi-Iniesta-Silva-Cesc...sadly Spain had this Barca DNA which dint allow him to get in that team.. He was MAGIC, My fav (technically gifted) Arsenal player after Dennis Bergkamp ❤❤❤

[@dragonbane44]

I would still pick Santi over Bergkamp.

[@eddietee6305]

Santi is my guy.

[@raphaelmakoni6532]

I'm grateful to Robbie, and the aftv team for introducing me to you, man. People of your elk, the cerebral Niche types, who care more about the facts than sensationalism, are a rare site to behold. Keep up the stunning work

[@TheGoonerverse]

Wow that’s really kind.. thank you, honestly means the world 🙏

[@TheGoonerverse]

Tried to reply but don’t know if it processed… so apologies if you see two replies here! Thank you for this, really really means a lot honestly 🙏

[@tommy22b]

Santi Cazorla was insane. If he hadnt got that injury Oct 2016 I think we would of won the league that season. Cazorla, Cesc, Odegarrd, Ozil for me.

[@eddietee6305]

He's my guy.

[@Eekaay94]

ive always said the same man, his injury in 2016 cost us big time.

[@RoshanSingh-tg4uv]

Hi James, i would love if u could do a video about Santi Cazorla. The most press resistant player ive seen at arsenal. Incredibly 2 footed. I loved watching him the most i must say. Truly world class, great work ethic as well. I put him above fabregas and ozil as a player.

[@jonafena4639]

By the End of Martin Odegaard Arsenal career he will be on Top of the list.

[@surafelalemu7098]

Arsenal is a very lucky club to have these insanely talented, beautiful to watch ballers that any team would have wished or still wish to have. In the last decade, only City has those types of players. Odegard is just proving himself in that category. I hope he'll lead us to many glorys to come and be a legend.

[@SuperSonic-im3bb]

Barca had more beautiful players than that

[@JP-fc6hq]

In 2024 it's crazy to still just talk about assists as creative quality... In Arteta's system oodegard is regularly the pass before the assist. Playing in crazy good passes to saka to break all the lines for saka to then make a cross for the assist. If you counted his pass before the assist numbers he would be insanely up with the others...

[@agentbuizel9875]

Not to mention he leads the press, his off the ball work is crazy

[@eddietee6305]

I'm not sure I understand you. Creativity and assists usually go together - in modern times too. It's not accidental when a player amassed lots of assists.

[@hafizur91]

@@eddietee6305you dont understand the pass before the assist? Its what oddgard does a lot.

[@user-bh7ey8jj5h]

Santi Cazorla for me, the man was always a joy to watch !!

[@eddietee6305]

I can't get enough of Santi.

[@franklingoodwin]

Out of the four, Cazorla was the best allrounder. There wasn't a weak area of his game. He had the best ball control, dribbling and finishing out of all of them (only Odegaard has had a season where he scored more league goals). Ozil was the pass master and assist king, and Odegaard and Cesc are the most similar in terms of playing style. It's a tricky one to who's the best out of the four but I'd choose Santi (it's also impossible not to like him)

[@gladiatorscoops4907]

Not too sure on Ozil being the assist king out of the players mentioned - Fabrigas had a wonderful weight of pass and tremendous vision. But the "Assist Emperor" was Bergkamp. Bergkamp was the best passer and assister I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt. Dennis could find a flea painted white in a blizzard with his passing.

[@matthewmorrison9255]

Did santi have the same defensive contribution as ø?

[@Boy_Cry_Wolf.]

@@matthewmorrison9255I wouldn’t compare Odegard to those 3

[@nronan3]

how about aerial presence?

[@eddietee6305]

Thank you. Özil was a passer for real. He would pass the ball on the goal line. I didn't see him as a dribbler.

[@andrewkaninte]

Ödegaard is very similar on the same level as Fabregas in terms of talent and the immense workrate they both put out until the final whistle every game. Everyone listed has incredible talent but no one else compares to those two in terms of overrall workrate

[@maingankonde7649]

Hmmm I don't thing odegaard is at a similar level to frabregas just yet.... Cesc was insane

[@migi6556]

he is imo, both started from 15 at the highest level, but Ode's path was rougher cuz of the midfield standard at RM at the time. But the way he control Arsenal's midfield, it's not that far@@maingankonde7649

[@sangdu957]

@@maingankonde7649oversll ars in 23/24 is better than that time. But i agree, till now cesc is a bit better than odegaard

[@TwistedSoul2002]

Cesc was Captain at 21… Won the Euros at the same age… World Cup at 23- providing an assist in the final. As much as we love Ødegaard- at the same age, they were world’s apart. No disrespect to Martin, he’s a fantastic player and will get even better- but Cesc was a generational talent.

[@Mercurial.]

You don't even know who Fábregas was u muppet 🤣 Odegaard can't even hold the ball for 5 sec before he loses possession.

[@en1324]

Realistically, I think Odegaard legacy-wise will end up greater than all the midfielders mentioned in the video. Fabregas, Ozil, etc may have greater individual skill, but they all played during Wenger's "thrifty" years..which meant they didn't as many trophies and has less of a legacy for Arsenal. If Arsenal maintains its current trajectory*, we're looking at Arsenal coming back to Wenger's earlier Arsenal years during which Arsenal was actually considered one of the best in the world. This makes Odegaard more on akin to a Bergkamp, Pires or Vieira (*potentially).

[@S0L12D3]

I completely agree with this! Ozil and Fabregas weren’t surrounded by the same quality of players as they were in their national teams or other clubs. Unfortunately we can only rate them for what they did at the clubs. As of now Cesc probably did more for Arsenal than anyone else in the list, but I do agree that Odegard should surpass him in terms of their overall Arsenal legacy. (At least by the time Odegard leaves)

[@ToxicAfricanKing]

Oh... Cazorla.. Ooh! ❤ My All Time Favourite Arsenal Player

[@eddietee6305]

I agree with you.

[@VVinTheChat]

Fabregas could play false 9, 10, 8, and regista at an elite level. The rest are better in their individual or 2 positions but as a complete midfielder Cesc is top 10 all time.

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@VVinTheChat]

All facts

[@mukailahkwari1651]

I rate Santi really really high against all our current and previous creative players...Carzola was everything, injuries deprived the world of his brilliance.

[@eddietee6305]

Big up.

[@TheDoctorGMan]

Didn't even watch this video, just wanted to say Santi is the best. If you ever saw this guy play you would know

[@davidakiti5892]

Santi Cazorla is the bomb of them all

[@shantanuseth5119]

Cazorla was special.... can't compare any midfeilder to him.

[@mjhuggins17]

I hear it. He was my favourite out of the lot

[@TheGoonerverse]

He was unreal

[@eddietee6305]

Thank you very much. You know footballers. I wish we still have him.

[@slyarsenal]

Lots of people are going to hate this opinion but Fabregas was a very special player and talent. Wenger played him at 17yo. The vision, weight of through balls, long balls, goal threat etc easily makes him one of our all time great players in terms of assists. Cazorla was the best two-footed player ever in the EPL. No one could dispossess him on the dribble. Had a good long range shot with both feet and could deliver corners or crosses comfortably with either foot Ozil had the best touch, technique and the best passer in transition in terms of maintaining the momentum of transitional attacks. The perfect weight on through-balls were also mesmerising. Odegaard is the best Captain material out of the lot. Natural leader with the best engine and work rate. He has a good balance of knowing when to pass or shoot just like Fabregas. In summary, Fabregas and Ozil were highly technical passers, Cazorla most technical dribbler and ambidextrous ability and Odegaard a good balance of passing and dribbling technicality, work rate and leadership.

[@sosolawson6587]

Carzola is the best, he could use both legs, his feet were so fast and his low centre of gravity made him press resistance and his vision was so good

[@eddietee6305]

You would never dispossess Santi. Genius for me.

[@rachitvas]

Cazorla was a shining light in our team He is incomparable.

[@shegelee]

My favourite among them is Santi Cazorla then Ozil before his decline. It's even honour for Ø to be called among these great guys. He has so many years ahead of him to surpass them and that makes me glad. His workrate is next to Cazorla's.

[@sethkimtie2505]

I believe Santi Carzola was ambidextrous with his feet and legs. I remember one game against westham away . He was going to take a corner with his right foot and someone instructed him to take it with his left, he switched and still floated the ball brilliantly. He was good . I can’t imagine if we hadi santi and odegaard in the same team 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@eddietee6305]

He's my baller.

[@Bo_93]

Ooooo Santi Cazorlaaaa!! All day, every day. The man was such a joy to watch. My favorite player since the start of Emirates Era.

[@saranr2176]

I really hope we get Frenkie de Jong and play him alongside Odegaard. Modric and Kroos vibes, and we could win so many majors too. Keep up the work James

[@lander2023]

Maybe ozil lack fight and focus but he is another level of technical class. Gee he can do things on another level. Most efficient would be carzola, most direct and controlling would be fabregas.

[@In_my_own_mind]

Have you seen Odegaards technique and control? Obviously not if you think Özil is on another level of technical class…

[@alexbrown975]

Can we just take a minute to appreciate Cazorla. Under appreciated at a time when Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets ran the Spanish midfield. Can't help but feel that if he played for Barca he would've been a starter.

[@eddietee6305]

Carzola is king for me. He's a joy to watch on the ball. He doesn't misplaced passes; he doesn't give away the ball; He always makes a pass. He's in the mold of a Zidane.

[@alexbrown975]

@@eddietee6305 He's the only player I've seen who is world class with both feet.

[@killabuddha88]

Carzola was playing mainly as a winger back then

[@philmap5536]

Fabregas was unreal.

[@timmyellow1]

Santi Cazola takes it for me, he had the combination of Ozil passing skills and Fabregas carrying ball abilities. With the work rate and skills of ødegard is complimented with the ball carrying capabilities I think he can generate, he'll achieve great success with this Arsenal team because nobody can be a Santi Cazola! Ohhhhhhh Santi Cazolaaaaaa

[@rossbentley8253]

Im sorry, this is going to upset a lot of people but the best player in terms of talent out of the four is unquestionably ozil, the others can only dream of being able to do what he was able to produce, the best number 10 of his generation and the best of all time in what he was able to do in terms of vision and passing ability in the final third, an absolute gift for a striker. The others are held in a higher light due to clutch moments (which is obvioulsy important), all round effort in terms of defensive contribution, progressive passes from deep, goal scoring and ball retention, dribbling and were all incredible in their own right but they are number 8s. Ozil defined the no 10 role and should be judged as such. The other 3 are 8s and should be judged as such. Ozil is comfortably the worst 8 out of the four but none can touch him in terms of talent. Special player.

[@jamiebaker8017]

Cazorla was unreal… the way he could dictate play from a dm role was stupid good..

[@anakinskywalker212]

The clueless dons in chat disrespecting Ozil so much. He is the best technical player on this list by far

[@abhishekchaudhary399]

Don't care...he wasn't that good arsenal...apart from 2 season..ghosted in big games

[@S0L12D3]

I personally think Cesc was the most technically gifted

[@eddietee6305]

Ozil was a passer...not a dribbler per se. You wouldn't expect him to tackle either. His first instinct is to pass...even on the goal line. No joke.

[@ilugirlie5630]

Cazorla was the best for me .....is just the players around him and his injuries...this is the best rounded team arsenal have since the invincible

[@DeeDeeDanone]

Fabregas is still the one though, he was Arsenal ready at 16. So good they let Vieira leave.

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@dre8463]

And Arsenal didn't win a single trophy up until Fabregas left. Good player but he wasn't a leader of men, sorry.

[@DeeDeeDanone]

@@dre8463 I think that's more to do with the fact he played through the penniless years. Look at the trophy haul he ended with.

[@dre8463]

@@DeeDeeDanone didn't you read when I said he was a good player? However, he couldn't lead. He was not a Vieira, clearly.

[@DeeDeeDanone]

@@dre8463 your point about leading is irrelevant to this conversation, it’s about players. It’s not pitting Odegaard against the Vieira and Tony Adams.

[@IbbyB.]

Fabregas was something else for us, Odegaard has a long way to get there. But he's on a fantastic trajectory.

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@S0L12D3]

Cesc and Van Persie are the two players I regret letting go the most…. I know a lot of people say Van Persie betrayed us. The reality is that the club didn’t want to spend loads of money on players at the time which lead all our best players to leave…. Can’t imagine what those two could have accomplished together 🥲

[@alainsemaine9897]

This is a brilliant post - Fabregas was a generational talent ✅

[@haseebrahman6026]

Great content James, always original and informative. One of my favourite football content creators. Keep it up 🤝🏾

[@vizp90]

Cazorla and ozil pure box office super talented. Cesc and odegard more of a worker

[@danieleven315]

I was actually thinking about this exact subject before you posted this video. Santi was a such a great player, Wengers demise coincided with his injury which kinda shows how vital he was to the team. I personally think though that Odegaard is on the path to Legendary status at Arsenal, he will be talked about in the same breath as Henry. Bergkamp, Vieira etc.when his playing days comes to end.

[@stealthiscool]

Fabregas actually finished closer to a title with Arsenal in 07/08, even though we finished 3rd we were only 4 points behind 1st and probably should've won it all that season but had a run of 4 draws in a row in the latter stages of the season.

[@TheGoonerverse]

Aahhhh GREAT point

[@stealthiscool]

@@TheGoonerverse to add on that Cazorla and Ozil finished 7 points off of 1st in 13/14 even though Arsenal finished 4th

[@eddietee6305]

The finishing position doesn't matter when talking about individual players. We finished 2nd last season.

[@MrFirFI]

Odegaard is the most complete player.The rest had better aspects go their game but overall hes the most complete.Hes better finisher than all of them better presser better leader better dribbler.Sure Ozil had better pass on him , but too many flaws. Cazorla wasnt really a 10 he played more of CM like Fabregas really good on the ball.Big fan of Fabregas , but its difficult to compare numbers.Back then we had this quick attack and we opened teams with 1-2 quick passes and now we’re slow and methodical

[@howsitgoingpeople9436]

We still didn't get replace Santi till now if we deep it

[@Belligol.]

We havent even replaced vieira

[@TJay96]

@@Belligol.Rice will be the new Vieira

[@thierryhenry674]

@@Belligol. Football have moved on, it has became a lot more advanced. We need a Busquets in modern football, not Vieira.

[@sosolawson6587]

None of our midfielders is as good as carzola

[@mjhuggins17]

Your channels gonna bang with vids like this

[@TheGoonerverse]

Just making vids I enjoy, but thank you! We’ll see 🙏

[@tukangkuya]

Fabregas was special. Appointed captain at such a young age

[@sixpac20032010]

There was a home game back in 2015 against manchester utd at emirates where Alexi sanchez scored & Ozil in that particular game Santi cazorla was the deep lying playmaker he was absolutely superb his passing between the lines was insane.

[@bhushankarande5625]

Fabregas was the best among them. Imagine this side with fabregas and a striker. We wouldn’t just win, we would demolish the league and get more than a 100 points. People don’t realise how good fabregas was. He used to drag us up there almost single handedly.

[@chrisnjoku2777]

Arsenal actually finished 3rd, but were 4 points behind Man utd who finished 1st in 2008. That team was one of the best attacking Arsenal teams i watched with Febregas, Helb, Rosicky and RVP, they could open up any team.

[@v2-kaj]

Have been waiting for this..

[@AmeyaShikhare_RR]

Ozil on his day was just unmatched…his vision and football iq was a thing of beauty!!

[@kingkenzokwansa]

I enjoyed watching them all and there are many more talented midfielders that I have watched since my first game supporting the club at Anfield 1989. I have to say on this list Odegaard and Cazorla have a slight edge on the other 2 as they are more complete midfielders on both sides on the pitch whether creating or defending. Odegaard have the genius of everyone and Cazorla had both feet

[@srykextraodinairecreation9962]

If you talk about fluidity nothing beat Wengerball but Artetaball have that solidity and more balance. Once all players click together understand each other better we will see more fluid football. Slicky move, smooth link up play and score goals better.

[@eddietee6305]

Your key word is "balance". Wenger teams were unbalanced in his latter years.

[@blairanson240]

@JamesGoonerverse very nice analysis. It would be great to see the stats for the player's involvement in the pass prior to the assist. My gut feel is that due to tactical differences Ozil had more of an opportunity to be the assisting player, while Odegaard may be more involved in setting up another player who performs the assist

[@alexkarthik1064]

It's a bit of an unfair comparison, odegaard is playing with world class midfielders to back him up. Who played behind Ozil? Elneny and first year xhaka? Arteta played some years but ozil or Cazorla never had world class CM/DMs playing with them. Fabregas only had Song and rotation injured DMs. Odegaard played with prime Xhaka, Partey and Now Rice. This makes. Massive difference in freedom of play.

[@sksohansanim602]

If ö had the team of ø ...we would have won a treble .

[@olajideoyadeyi9350]

While many people have rated Santi so highly, I am beginning to wonder if any of you watched Cesc at Arsenal. The most complete midfielder was Cesc and he was the most influential. Cazorla was ambidextrous, press resistant, could dribble his way out of danger. But what he lacked was his chance creation and final passes leading to a goal, despite his creativity and ability to shoot from anywhere. I am one of those who believe Santi never truly reached his peak and always got injured when he hit peak form. On the other hand, Cesc was everything Arsenal despite not being as gifted as Santi. But Cesc could control the game with all manner of passes with clear and precise vision, not even Xavi could boast of. BTW, he was also press resistant and worked as hard as Odegaard currently does. You need to foul Cesc to get the ball off him. You can still argue that Odegaard can sometimes still be guilty of losing the ball a times. I can't remember Cesc ever losing the ball since he became a starter for Arsenal. The only thing left for me to put Odegaard in the same bracket as Cesc is in the way Cesc could create something out of nothing from long range. If Odegaard emulates that, then he may eclipse Fabregas. But for now, Cesc is still the best all round creative midfielder Arsenal every had. Santi, despite being the most talented rarely takes the game by the scruff of the neck and be the ultimate decider of games week in week out, the same way Alexis Sanchez was influential in his last year at Arsenal. Besides, for all his creativity and vision, Santi's passes doesn't rank anywhere near the other three, a major weakness in his game, inhibiting him from creating the numbers that others did. Odegaard will most likely eclipse Santi and Ozil in an Arsenal shirt (if he stays long enough and doesn't get riddled by injuries). To truly eclipse Fabregas, he needs to be the heartbeat of that team. Cesc was head and shoulders above every one else on the pitch in his hey days. In terms of playing style, Odegaard is closer to Ozil than the other two. But somehow, he is beginning to develop his inner self and his all round game is getting closer to what Santi does. But I don't believe Santi ever had the vision of the other three, despite his skill set.

[@oeckstei]

The difference is he’ll hopefully be here as long as Fabregas, have an excellent individual record as well as more trophies by the end.

[@soorajs5735]

what a gem he is ❤🤍 our cap 🔥

[@sonofapollo6814]

I also became a fan after the Champions League Final too😊

[@patrickyoung2235]

Tough one, James. But I'm gonna go with Odegaard. You're right to factor in that he's playing in a better team than the other three. But I believe that he's such a main reason as to WHY it's better. I definitely can not see Ozil surviving in this team. Santi, even though he has the knack for producing that moment of jaw-dropping magic. I don't see him as that guy that we can run every single thing through like we do with Odegaard. If anything, I believe we'd see the absolute best version of Santi playing alongside an Odegaard (I think I just made my own mouth water). Also, Santi and Ozil played with each other through most of their successes at Arsenal. They also had another player that was more than capable of stealing the show and being the "main man" in Alexis Sanchez. So I think it boils down to Odegaard and Cesc... but I lean more towards Odegaard because, like you said, he's in a better team. Also... say Cesc came into this group of players instead of Odegaard. Do you still see him becoming the captain?

[@mr.gegenpress7750]

Wanalysis Wames. No disrespect to any of the #10s in Emirates era, but Ozil on his day is the best playmaker itw. Prime Ozil not only in Arsenal, but during his time at RM, gave me some of the best moments of watching football in my entire life. Ozil made me fall in love with football, shame we couldn't give him a world class striker to work with. Ode on the other side is more of a controller and he likes dictate the tempo of the game.

[@TheGoonerverse]

🙏❤️

[@wasabijones4571]

i loved Cazorla the most, but on his day, no one beats Ozil for me. Fabregas was amazing for us, and if Odegaard leads us to a PL or a UCL, he will definitely be my favorite

[@abdallmohamedfaraholdlegen8774]

Great video

[@TheShayDaddy]

Ask me again in 2 or three years time, haha Fabregas made me fall in love with Arsenal, Ozil made me believe we could win things again, and Cazorla ended up being my favorite of the three, though my heart broke every time he was injured. Would I take any of them over Odegaard right now? The only one I might take over Martin would be Santi. Prime Santi was so damn good, never gave the ball up, and his passing and vision were just incredible.

[@heads7982]

Odegaard is the luckiest of them all. He gets to play with better players all around him, especially at the back. Ozil, Carzola, Fabregas, Hleb, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky all had to produce their magic with various Arsenal sides filled with weak minded softies, weak mentality and a defensive foundation built on polystyrene.

[@TheGoonerverse]

I hear it, but they played in a lower quality league imo. Odegaard’s also had to play through the mud with Arsenal, committed and now is part of a team and he’s earned that through backing us and growing with the side

[@gladiatorscoops4907]

This is a list for midfielders but if we are talking about technique, vision, assists and passing we have to give a mention to Dennis Bergkamp. He was a forward but pretty much played as a 10 for most of his time at the club. As someone who has watched Arsenal for nearly 35 years Dennis was the absolute best in that regard no question.

[@runitup7029]

Fabregas. Highest G/A over the most games as the youngest player on the list says it all. Beyond incredible when he was at Arsenal

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@killabuddha88]

Couldn't have said it better myself 😂

[@hafizur91]

Look at the assist. Ozil could catch up with fabregas assist. As he played more games then ozil

[@oisin5684]

@hafizur91 Context is important when throwing out stats like that. It's like when people say that De Bruyne is only 4 behind Fabregas in second place for most assists in PL era. Fabregas made 104 of his 350 PL appearances for Arsenal & Chelsea as a teenager before the age of 20 when he was still developing, in which he registered 21 of his 111 assists in the PL. He played his last game for Arsenal at 23 before his transfer to Barcelona, whereas both De Bruyne & Ozil were 24 when they joined Man City & Arsenal respectively & spent their "prime" years from that point in the Prem.

[@gittipoos]

Cazorla was tops for me... who knows what we could've achieved had he not been tragically injured.

[@balatelli4evaarsenal381]

James the game was different back then. Put santi in this arsenal team player next to odegaard and add Alexis sanchez up front instead of jesus in this team and we would be devastating.

[@eddietee6305]

City couldn't test us.

[@JoshuaGuevara7]

Fabregas was great for us and then was key for Chelsea with all his assists to win a title

[@jamesjustice21]

5:55 Fabregas and Arsenal finished 4 points behind top in 2007/08, so that would be his best finish, no?

[@jamesjustice21]

Nevertheless, love the content and appreciate these types of videos. All the best, James

[@N.i.c.k.H]

Fabregas was closest. Cazorla was different but also great. I try not to think about Ozil

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@rishp301]

Odegaard leaderhsip and mentality will mean he will be remebered as a legend. Cazorla and ozil played during wenger decline as a manager and only won fa cups. This current team will win things

[@greyw2799]

Imo the system and role will greatly affect how they operate. Ozil would work so well for counter footy team, he is balanced in position, lacking in press, but absolutely godly in final passes. Odegaard is so good in dribbling and possesion. He is so well tailored in the way we play. Final balls are sometimes hit and miss but once it happens its absolutely beautiful. He is more positionally aware in front of goal than Ozil i feel like. But this system demands tactical and relentless press, Odegaard is natural in this.

[@user-xj9ry9of6f]

The four of them were/are all fantastic footballers with superb technique. However, Ødegaard does something none of the other three did - he is the player starting the press and as we all noticed in the last Porto game - he ran for 120 minutes..

[@drew203a]

He can write himself into the Arsenal history books in the next few years, If he is the one to bring us a CL and PL, I think he will be immortalized as an Arsenal legend.

[@ZaineKnight]

Ozil-fabregas-santi and odegaard 🎉🎉🎉

[@gstv2079]

You know ball

[@BADEYE1987]

fab was such an industrial midfielder had that tenacity was in and amongst the invincibles players i just wish wenger did not have so much pride and brought him back

[@shenkepartey8887]

Santi was just unreal.

[@jordonbooman9913]

CF Fabregas was unreal

[@cungcung5042]

Trossard is same style with Cazorla. Odegaard has same style with Ozil, but workrate of Cesc.

[@Koluvuma]

Agreed Yh good point

[@oivindreklev1462]

In a year or two - Martin will be no 1 on that list! We can all see what is coming

[@muhammadzulhelmi]

Helb was unreal

[@mrfm2178]

I have a special place in my heart for Santi but Fabregas was a different breed. In 09/10 he got 15 goals and 15 assists having only played 27 PL games. In 07/08, at the age of 20, he equalled the record of most assists in a PL season with 20. Imo he’s the only truly world class player we’ve had (along with Alexis) in the Emirates Era. But i would say Rice, Odegaard and Saka are well on their way to join them.

[@markpotter544]

Dennis Bergkamp anyone ? Rosicky.. Cazorla is something else tho. Would be great to have him at left 8 right now, except for height, he is ideal. A fabregas would do also

[@mmolefe18]

To be honest we'll never tangibly compare him to Ozil. Ozil was crazy level creatively especially. Let's just enjoy Captain Odegaard 🌟

[@stefanvegsund9584]

Ødegaard is brilliant. If you put up the numbers on how much they ran and pressed tho , ødegaard would be miles ahead. Hes a marathon runner, and like pep once said, its not a race, its a marathon.

[@karlwilliams8625]

last season was compared to 07-08 when we finished 4 points from the top without the top team on the beach. Also all momentum ended that season when our player's leg got broken in the middle of a match. If we're rating on ability as to what order would you put players in if it was the WC final last minute and you needed someone to assist you. 1. Fabregas 2.Ozil 3 Odegaard 4.Cazorla. If we're rating impact, only a prime Fabregas could replace Odegaard in an Arteta team. A real madrid Ozil isn't the right profile and wouldn't get the goals. Cazorla dare I say it gets a lot of praise for a few moments at Arsenal At the moment Odegaard is still in his jack of all trades era, When the team does well he doesn't well, when the team looks bad he looks bad. Although Porto was the first time he looked good while the team looked bad. More clutch assists or goals to display his individual abilities is what he'll need to pass those players, as we saw a lot of individual abilities from those players because of the years at the club.

[@priyesh0071]

Cazorla gets praise for a few moment? He made average midfield looked really good, the guy had a magnet at his feet, only if Wenger gave him a WC DM and a very good Striker, he would have bossed most of the games, he was that special.

[@oisin5684]

Loved the side of 07/08. That was by far my favourite time being an Arsenal supporter in terms of the electric style of football that we used to play. The football that season going forward with the likes of Fabregas, Rosicky, Hleb, Diaby, Walcott, Eduardo, Van Persie & Adebayor was absolutely scintillating The precision of those intricate & incisive one touch/two touch sharp & snappy interchanges, movement off the ball, and build up play in the final third at times was utterly breathtaking. Just a shame we couldn't get over the line and reward all that exceptional free-flowing attacking football with a Prem title at the end of it: ● Going into that Birmingham game, which Eduardo broke his leg in, we had the opportunity to go 8 points clear as it was an early Saturday K:O on the 27th G/W before everyone else played. ● Including the Birmingham draw, we drew 5, lost 2, and won just 1 of our 8 league games in that period, which ultimately cost us the title. ● Finished on 83 points (4 points off Man Utd). The 2 we lost were 6 pointers against Man United and Chelsea, respectively, as well to make it even more painful. Even if we'd just managed to beat United during that horrific run of results it would have hypothetically meant that we would have won the league in hindsight if the 3 points went the other way although obviously I appreciate the entire dynamic of the run in would have been altered by those chain of events. Fine margins. We completely imploded from gameweek 27-34. What could have been 😔.

[@oisin5684]

My Favourite Player of All Time: ● Fabregas was 17 years old during virtually the entirety of his breakthrough season of 04/05 and made 33 league appearances (24 starts) in a side just off the back of winning the previous seasons league without losing a game, finished 2nd in that current campaign and won the FA Cup. Just let that sink in. Absolutely frightening 😲. ● Youngest Arsenal goalscorer: (16 years 212 days v Wolves Dec 2003) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in League: (17 years 113 days v Blackburn Aug 2004) Youngest Arsenal goalscorer in Europe: (17 years 217 days v Rosenborg Dec 2004) ● Only he and Evan Ferguson have 10+ goals/assists to there names as 18 year olds in the Premier League era who weren't from England. Had to get that one in as an Irishman 😄. ● Statistics show that in the five years prior to Fàbregas's departure from Arsenal, Fàbregas created 466 goal-scoring chances, made 86 assists and scored 48 goals, all three statistics topping those of new teammates Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, despite both having made more appearances in the same period. ● 09/10 League Season: Apps: 27 Goals: 15 Assists: 15 Who knows what numbers he would have finished with that season if he'd avoided a few niggling injuries during the first half of that campaign and not fractured his leg to Barca in March and been ruled out for the remainder of the season. I've no doubt that he would have comfortably broken the record of 20 assists in a PL season and in all likelihood would have 20+ League goals to his name alongside it. All from CM at 22 years of age in his second season as club captain as well it's worth noting. ● All time leader in history of assists for Spanish national team. ● Most assists as a CM in the 21st century ahead of the likes of Lampard, Gerrard, Iniesta & Xavi. ● Only player in PL era to record 10+ assists in 6 separate seasons. ● 2nd All Time Leader in assists in PL history to Ryan Giggs who spent 9 and a half more seasons than him in the PL . ● Made captain of Arsenal at the tender age of 21 as well. He was absolute magic

[@S0L12D3]

I love santi, Ozil, and Fabregas as much as the next arsenal fan! But I think Odegard will go down as the best Arsenal midfielder in the Emirates era!!! He will win a major trophy before he leaves us….

[@Saylessbro]

He can be the best. Don’t forget odegaard was the best young player in the world that’s why Real Madrid bought him as a 15 year old , he’s starting to reach his potential but has a higher ceiling

[@thierryhenry674]

First tier VanPersie, Sanchez, Jesus, Trossard, Hleb, Nasri, Arshavin, Gnabry, Cazorla, Fabregas, Zinchenko, Timber, Saliba, Raya. Second tier Vela, Eduardo, Benayoun, Rosicky, Odegaard, Jorginho, FabioVieira, Monreal, White, Gabriel, Toure, Koscielny.

[@ismailmehdi266]

Swap odegard with zinchenko

[@leighthe7814]

Eduardo….what could have been if not for that injury 😢

[@slyarsenal]

Odegaard - best engine Ozil - best touch Fabregas - best long passer Cazorla - best dribbler

[@Zombney]

If Arsenal win the CL and the League, not necessarily the same season, with Odegaard as captain, then he'll go down as a greater player than all of them

[@ridwanzyr1015]

All them greats, but ozil on his prime years was magical

[@adeniyipie5461]

No player matched the off the ball discipline of Martin. So I go with odegaard anyday. Arteta masterpiece

[@kenshiki868]

Cazorla is underrated in world football in general I don’t know if I’m being stupid but I don’t think iniesta and xavi could of handled the prem like santi did and he’s one of the most ambidextrous footballers of all time

[@izanudin]

It's just a shame that he has an angle bias. Otherwise, he'd be unstoppable.

[@ofusowre7620]

It s simple. If Odegaard wins the big trophies he will become a legend above the rest. Especially if he s the main man in the Arsenal team winning the league or the CL. None of the others managed to win a major trophy.