Eze, Odegaard or both - what does Mikel Arteta do with his Arsenal attack?

A lot has been made about Arsenal's attack in the last year, and whether their threat going forward is enough to win the big trophies.

As title opportunities came and went, some claimed the Gunners were in need of a fully fit forward option who is capable of producing those unpredictable moments that very few players can.

But the issue for Mikel Arteta - and it's a good problem - is he doesn't just have one of those players, he now has two.

In the last two games, Arsenal have given Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard run outs in the attacking midfield role. Eze started away at Newcastle, Odegaard returned to that position at home against Olympiakos in the Champions League.

Both made very strong cases to make that spot their own. Eze's presence in a tough St James' Park environment was evident - and he brought an unpredictability to Arsenal's play that has not been seen for a while.

Eze would have scored twice in the first half were it not for two solid Nick Pope saves. He then played a glorious long ball to Bukayo Saka, which resulted in Viktor Gyokeres rounding the Newcastle 'keeper, only for VAR to intervene and deny Arsenal a penalty after it had been awarded on field.

That pass was reminiscent of the assist he gave Gabriel Martinelli to rescue a draw for Arsenal against Manchester City, a game where Eze came off the bench to play in that central role at half-time.

"He does things that, in the book, are unexpected," said Arteta about Eze this week. "When you think he's going to turn right, he goes left. When he thinks that he's going to take another touch, he releases the ball.

"It's his vision, he's a player who can create those magic moments, and at some points, he can steal the ball in a way that not many players can do."

But against Olympiakos, the spotlight was back on Odegaard in that role - and the Arsenal captain performed under it. The Norwegian played a big part in both of Arsenal's goals in the 2-0 win, including setting up the second for Saka.

Just like Eze, Odegaard should have added his name to the scoresheet in the second half but some heroic Olympiakos defending denied him on two occasions from inside the penalty area.

And after the game, Arteta described Odegaard in a very similar way to Eze. "I think that creativity part is his nature," said the Arsenal manager. "It's his best ability to generate things that not a lot of players can do."

One of the noticeable themes between the two games is that Eze may have influenced Odegaard's game - especially with his 'shoot on sight' policy.

One of the complaints about Odegaard over the past two years has been his lack of desire to shoot from the edge of the box, and take too many touches. Against Newcastle and City, Eze showed a free-shooting nature that contrasted massively to Odegaard's game, particularly last season.

While Odegaard is a more creative player, Eze is the more likely to score 15 Premier League goals himself, while also supplying for others.

But against Olympiakos, we saw a different Odegaard. An Eze-like Odegaard, in fact. The Arsenal captain ended the game with the most shots, while also keeping up his creativity.

The comparisons between Eze and Odegaard do not end there. They go beyond being able to produce the magic moment. It's also about how they both unlock the players around them from central areas.

The Arsenal manager admitted that Eze's best position is the central role this week. "The more we put him in central positions, especially when there's threat around him, we're playing to his strengths," said Arteta about Eze after the Newcastle game.

But again, that's Odegaard's big strength, having done that not only against Olympiakos, but also in his 15-minute cameo against Newcastle at St James' Park, which Jamie Carragher branded "world class".

"When we have a front three with that pace as well, with those timings in the runs, players can activate that and we have to do that 100 per cent," said Arteta about Odegaard's game.

"He did it in Newcastle, a few times in 15 minutes, and that's the game that I want from him."

One of the players Odegaard supplied against Olympiakos was Viktor Gyokeres, with the Arsenal captain putting the forward through on goal twice - including in the build-up to Arsenal's first goal.

The Swedish striker's output in the big games has been questioned - with zero shots from the three matches against Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City - but the focus was more on the service, rather than Gyokeres' output.

"I go back to when people say Arsenal's problem is finishing. It's not. It's creating, they don't create enough. They haven't created one chance for Gyokeres in those three games," said Carragher.

But with Eze in that attacking midfield role, Gyokeres had six shots at Newcastle. The Sweden striker benefited from having the England international behind him too.

So who is better behind Gyokeres? What does Arteta do with Eze and Odegaard in every context?

Both could play for Arsenal in midfield, but it would be a very attacking line-up - a full U-turn on Arteta's "handbrake" midfield which saw Mikel Merino as the most forward option.

Eze and Odegaard together would also mean one of Martin Zubimendi or Declan Rice sitting out - and both have been instrumental at the base of the midfield and have been the go-to options for providing balance in Arteta's set-up.

There is the option to play Eze from the left - as Arteta has done - so both him and Odegaard can be on the pitch at the same time. However, the early numbers - albeit being a small sample side - show Eze's game could be limited by that wide role.

In the Premier League, he has one start and one substitute appearance for Arsenal in both of those positions - and his central outings have been more fruitful.

Then again, Eze did manage to supply an assist for Gyokeres against Nottingham Forest while playing as a left winger. So it is not fruitless either.

Having both on the pitch could also be important to fix a key issue from last season, as Arsenal prepare to face a fierce low block from Nuno Espirto Santo's West Ham on Saturday.

In last season's Premier League title race, the Gunners drew 14 games last season - only Everton had more in the division - with a lot of those stalemates coming against the mid-table sides via 1-1 scorelines. Arsenal struggled to get that second goal.

So the prospect of playing Saka, Odegaard, Eze and Gyokeres in the same team could make those games against the defensive sides more manageable. There is also the set-piece threat, plus the option of super-substitutes Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to call on.

The question is now no longer whether Arsenal have the firepower, it's how they use it.