OK, lots of interest in the Odegaard thread from earlier, so...let's make it head-to-head! (1/x)...
I noted that Arsenal recorded 1.89 points per match in Odegaard's 9 starts.
In the Prem, Maddison has 88 starts the past three seasons. Leicester have recorded 140 points in those matches. = 1.59 per.
Without JM? 26 matches, 40 points. =1.54 points per.
Next, key passes! Going pace-based here, but keep in mind Maddison has a LOT more appearances in the Prem. MØ's pace last year would have put him between 60-70 KPs. Maddison's last three years:
52
84
95
Should #Arsenal sign Martin Odegaard? A quick statistical detour...
No causation/correlation line here, but MØ was undoubtedly part of the turnaround. The club registered 17 points in his 9 PL starts, 1.89 per. Arsenal put up 44 points in its other 29 matches, 1.51 per match.
The latter pace would have gotten them 11th over a full season.
Odegaard's league starts included wins over Leeds, Tottenham and Chelsea, but he did also start the 0-3 drubbing to Liverpool (Xhaka, Luiz and Saka all missed) and the 1-1 draw to Burnley, one of Arsenal's worst finishing performances of the season.
In 20-21, Pepe played 32.6 90s, up slightly from his first year at Arsenal, but still down from Lille. He struggled in year one to match his output from his last year in France, as you'd expect after a league change. But year two saw bounces back in goalscoring and shooting.
One area Pepe did not improve last year -- assists. His assists/90 were halved, and his xA were down by about 30 percent. He absolutely needs to do better finding his teammates and creating chances, but here's reason to be encouraged that he can.