After watching his captain put in another sensational shift, Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Martin Odegaard.
The Norway international took his goal tally for the season to eight with a clinical finish to put the Gunners ahead against Burnley and later assisted Bukayo Saka as the Gunners routed Vincent Kompany’s side 5-0 at Turf Moor.
In his post-game press conference, Arteta said: “I think confidence-wise it’s a really good moment, physically as well, the way he applied himself, defending, attacking, the connection and the movement that he gave us in that right-hand side is really good. He’s hitting form.”
After Odegaard’s goal, the midfielder cupped his ears and shut his eyes. Was it a reaction to the criticism he received for ‘over-celebrating’ Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Liverpool?
“I don’t know,” said Arteta about the reaction. “I didn’t notice that he made that gesture.
“He was really happy in the dressing room, the way he played today. I think he was exceptional. I don’t think he needs to send any message.
“He needs to be himself and he needs to do what he feels and if he feels to do something, do it and then you deal with the consequences because some people are going to like it and some people they won’t, but we really like him.”
Reflecting on the performance as a whole, Arteta added: “I’m really happy obviously with the performance, with the results, with the individual and the collective.
“As well, the contribution of every single player has been very, very good. And [I like] the fact that the team looked like they wanted more.
“It wasn’t satisfied, it wanted more, it wanted to score more. They didn’t want to concede that goal so I’m really pleased to hit that consistency.
“We want to dominate the game and play in the opponent’s half as much as possible. I think the threat, the purpose, the activity and the connections of the players at the moment is flowing and they really want it.
“We have momentum now and we have to maintain it. Now we leave the Premier League, we go to Porto [in the Champions League], which we know is going to be a really, really tough environment and game to play and just prepare well to go again and be ourselves.”
Incredible moments
I honestly think this Odegard’s best game yet, he was relentless. Super human fitness level, impeccable decision making and touches are so reliable.
Looking forward to Porto, in this form playing in the champions league against a team which is likely to at least try to attack us, should be exciting 🙌🙌 lets dew dis
Porto don’t really attack, they are the most defensive team in Portugal, they have conceded the least goals
Second least, and they’ve scored 4th most goals, so surely they attack a little bit? But I take your point.
You can hear the sound of the crying in the Bernabeu stadium from here 🤣
I’ve been watching the Arse for 35 years and Odegaard is fast becoming one of my favourite ever players. Remember when they said the days of the luxury number 10 were over? Well, what if your playmaker combines the technique of Ozil with the vision of Bergkamp, the finishing of RVP (pardon me), AND the workrate of Freddie? His form has been excellent for a couple of months, and now he’s racking up goals and assists. We are so lucky to have him, what an inspirational captain
I allow it
He is or will become, in my opinion, our best player since Bergkamp. Your combination of players is absolutely spot on and is why I love him so much. He is also a leader, a proper captain who has been fundamental to our resurgence. I can’t wait for him the lift the trophy.
You meant the technique of Merson, vision of Dixon (seaman always passed to him to lob the ball), finishing of Smith, and workrate of Davis. 😀
The technique of Brady, vision of Charlie George, finishing of Sunderland and workrate of Sammy Nelson?
I’ll go with the technique of Santi Cazorla, vision of Özil, finishing of Dennis Bergkamp, work rate of Mathieu Flamini and fitness levels of Gilberto Silva. The perfect midfielder! 💯
There are still levels he can add to his game as well. I would have him work on shooting on his right which he seems reluctant to do, and add a few more pounds of upper body muscle to help him win more duels. Other than that, hard to find a fault.
Another top performance from our captain, ok we have won games when he’s not been at his best but when he is it seems to affect the whole team to up their game, superb finish also today 👏
It wasn’t satisfied, it wanted more, it wanted to score more. It wanted to put lotion on its skin!
I just love this free-flowing football that we’re playing! It is breathtaking to watch and long may it continue.
I just can’t believe Real Madrid sold him to us. What were they thinking?
Well, obviously they’d reduced his value by so much in an interminable series of loans that he no longer qualified as a galáctico and had to go.
They already have Modric and Kroos, the pre-eminent buildup maestros of their generation. Plus they weren’t going to commit to Odegaard the way Arsenal did tactically and structurally so they were never likely to get this version of him.
Does the team make Odegaard better or does Odegaard make the team better? well both, of course. I’d say it’s about the total team performance first, and that gives a platform for the creative types to shine. I remember when Ozil was constantly berated for not showing up in big games. Part of that was fair because he was not doing enough off the ball, but much of it was a function of the types of games Arsenal were in and the level of the opposition physically, tactically and individually was just higher. This Arsenal team outclasses most of their… Read more »
Good question. Odegard’s worst game of the season (at Fulham) was also Arsenal’s worst.
That subtle, yet outstanding piece of leadership where he takes the ball from Saka prior to the pen to stop the Burnley players from getting in his head spoke volumes.
Standard arsenal routine now, ‘shielding’ the ball for the penalty taker.