James Maddison and Martin Odegaard are two players on Arsenal's transfer shortlist this summer, as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attacking options ahead of the new season.
football.london understands that Arsenal have not given up signing Odegaard, with Leicester playmaker Maddison 'topping the list' for manager Arteta this summer.
Odegaard spent the second half of last season on loan with the Gunners, but it's understood that there is belief in the Arsenal camp that the 22-year-old would be open to returning to north London.
Maddison is an alternative option for Arteta as he looks to strengthen his squad, although his asking price of £60million means a potential deal hinges on the Gunners making a profit from outgoings.
* Click here to subscribe to Level up! The Esports and Gaming Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Spreaker *
So, what would happen if Odegaard or Maddison signed for Arsenal ahead of the new season? And, which player would perform better for the Gunners? Let's find out...
We 'signed' Maddison and Odegaard for Arsenal and compared their performances
To set up this comparison, we used the Football Manager 2021 editor to complete two separate simulations in which we arranged for Odegaard and Maddison to join Arsenal ahead of the new season.
Let's take a look at how Odegaard performed throughout the 2021/22 season.
The 22-year-old improved upon his loan spell last season, contributing 8 goals and 7 assists in 32 appearances for the Gunners across all competitions in 2021/22.
Odegaard also had a higher average match rating than anyone else in the Arsenal squad, with a rating of 7.76, bettering the likes of Bukayo Saka (7.71) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (7.45).
Odegaard also had a higher pass completion ratio of 87 per cent compared to Emile Smith Rowe with 84 per cent, as well as covering more distance and winning more tackles per 90 minutes with 1.31 compared to Smith Rowe's 1.16 per 90 minutes.
Interestingly, Arteta utilised Odegaard more as a central midfielder rather than in an attacking-midfielder role, with the Norwegian playing 25 games from a deeper role.
This was profitable for Arteta as Odegaard produced 12 of his 15 goal contributions when playing on the right of a midfield trio.
Odegaard's performances helped Arsenal qualify for the Champions League through their fourth-place finish in the Premier League.
The Gunners increased their overall goal tally in the league from 55 goals to 73 goals scored, which is a significant improvement of 18 goals for Arteta's side.
Arsenal's domestic cup performances were less impressive as they exited the Carabao Cup in the second round to Crystal Palace on penalties, and then failed to beat Southampton on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round.
Now let's take a look at how Maddison performed for Arsenal and how the Gunners performed across all competitions with the 24-year-old in the side.
Maddison had a brilliant season for Arsenal, scoring 9 goals and registering 15 assists from an attacking midfield position, averaging a match rating of 7.73.
Similar to Odegaard, Maddison also had the best match rating in the Arsenal squad, bettering Aubameyang (7.69) and Saka (7.50).
Whilst Odegaard's pass completion rate was 87 per cent, Maddison only managed to achieve an 84 per cent pass completion rate despite registering more goals and assists than the 22-year-old.
Maddison managed to complete 2.6 key passes per 90 minutes, compared to Smith Rowe who only managed to complete 2.01 key passes per 90 minutes, proving Maddison was a very effective player in the number 10 role under Arteta.
Maddison helped Arsenal finish in third position in the Premier League, going one place better than Odegaard, but both were influential in regaining Champions League football for Arteta's side.
Maddison's performances in the league saw him register the most assists in the season with 15, recording three more assists than new Manchester United signing Jadon Sancho.
In the domestic cup competitions, again Arsenal failed to meet expectations as was the case in the Odegaard simulation.
A Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea and FA Cup defeat after extra-time to Aston Villa saw the Gunners fall short, despite finishing in an impressive position in the league.
Football Manager 2021 predicts that Maddison could be the more influential and significant signing for the Gunners, helping them reach a top-three finish for the first time since the 2015/16 season when the 25-year-old's current side, Leicester, won the league.
Whilst Odegaard did improve upon his loan spell last season, registering 15 goal contributions in total, Maddison's 24 goal contributions were significantly better, despite the Norwegian having a better average match rating than the Englishman.
A key thing to highlight is that Odegaard was utilised in a deeper role than Maddison was in their respective simulations, yet it is clear that FM predicts that Maddison would be the better acquisition for the Gunners if they're to improve their attacking threat.
Which player would you prefer Arsenal to sign? And would you be happy with either Maddison or Odegaard joining the Gunners ahead of the new season? Let us know in the comments!
