Ray Parlor has compared Arsenal star Martin Odegaard to one of his former teammates and urged Mikel Arteta to give the playmaker a start against Chelsea even though he is “only 80% fit.” “.

Odegaard returned at the very end of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Inter on Wednesday, a game similar to many of the 12 games the Norway international has missed since his international injury in September, as Or they struggled to create clear chances.

Arteta has not revealed whether Odegaard will feature from the start against Chelsea, but Parlor believes he should be in the starting XI with a defeat that could leave them ten points behind league leaders Liverpool, who face Aston Villa Saturday evening.

“He’s got the vision, he’s got that creativity,” Parlor said of Arsenal’s importance on talkSPORT.

“If you look at the midfield you have (Thomas) Partey, Declan Rice when he plays, (Mikel) Merino has also come into the team, very similar players, really.

“All of them are very good players, don’t get me wrong. I’d like to see Declan move forward a bit more when Partey plays.

“But if Odegaard is there, he is the player who takes the ball in small, tight situations. He sees a pass, he creates chances.

“When I watched the Newcastle game, they needed a bit of creativity because Newcastle were very comfortable sitting in front of the defense. The Newcastle midfield did a great job.

“He can just bring something else to the team, a little bit different from the other players they have. He’s a big miss, but I don’t know how fit he is and if he’s recovered. If he’s at 80 percent, I’ll play him for 70 minutes, I’ll do it.

Parlor believes that while Odegaard is not quite on the same level as Bergkamp, ​​with whom he shared a dressing room at Arsenal for nine years, he sees similarities in style.

He added: “I watch Bergkamp when I was playing. I wouldn’t say he (Odegaard) is as good as Bergkamp, ​​but he is very similar in his outlook and he will create chances.

“What I’m saying is he can get into small areas, he’s a very intelligent player. You watch his vision when he passes balls. He knows where the races will come from.

“Against Newcastle, I didn’t see that. I didn’t see the creativity of the Arsenal midfielder. This is what he can bring to the team if he returns this weekend.

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Paul Merson agreed with Parlor on Odegaard, urging Arteta to ‘take a chance’ on the midfielder.

Asked if Odegaard should start at Stamford Bridge, Merson replied: “I think it depends on this weekend and the results.

“Arsenal are playing second on Super Sunday, so they will know how Liverpool and City are doing. If they both won, I think Odegaard should start the game.

“Ten and nine points, if these two teams win, that’s a lot of points and, for me, it would be a must-win football game and you take your chance (on Odegaard).

“Otherwise, what are you doing?” Do you bring him in for the last 20 to 30 minutes and then he goes and plays for Norway for a few games in seven or eight days? Unless he doesn’t go with Norway and then maybe you’ll save him somehow.

“But otherwise I think he needs to be reinstated. He is so important to Arsenal.”