Ally McCoist said surprise Arsenal star was ‘second best’ to only Martin Odegaard vs Olympiacos

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Ally McCoist saw a new side to one Arsenal player’s game when Olympiacos visited the Emirates. 

On matchday two of the Champions League, Arsenal beat Olympiacos 2-0 courtesy of an early goal from Gabriel Martinelli, and a late one from Bukayo Saka.

It’s two goals from two Champions League appearances this season for Martinelli, but the Brazilian wasn’t actually one of Arsenal’s best on the night.

Viktor Gyokeres impressed against Olympiacos, setting up Martinelli’s goal, as did David Raya, who was tested between the sticks. 

Ally McCoist was impressed with Martin Odegaard and David Raya’s passing vs Olympiacos 

In what was a relatively quiet first half for Raya turned into a challenging second half as Olympiacos gained momentum.

Raya made a stunning save to deny Daniel Podence, but it wasn’t only the Spaniard’s goalkeeping skills that stood out. 

Martin Odegaard had a night to remember with a silky performance in midfield, though Ally McCoist thought Raya was close to matching his captain when it came to distribution. 

“David Raya might be the second-best passer on the pitch tonight behind Odegaard,” McCoist said during TNT Sports’ coverage of the game.

In the opening minutes, both Raya and Odegaard actually combined thanks to their slick passing, as the goalkeeper played a tremendous pass through to the skipper, who moved it on first time.

Seeing Odegaard produce line-splitting passes is expected, but for Raya, his quality in that area was quite a surprise.

Odegaard was back to his best against Olympiacos

Though Raya’s passing was good, McCoist couldn’t put the Spaniard ahead of Odegaard on the night, and for good reason.

The Norwegian created four chances for his teammates, notably assisting Bukayo Saka in injury time, pulling the strings in midfield to keep those ahead of him thinking. 

Odegaard was tremendous against Newcastle after coming on off the bench, and carried his impressive form into the Champions League.

After securing a match-winning assist against Newcastle, Odegaard added to his contribution tally when Olympiacos visited, with Arsenal fans finally seeing the skipper back to his best.