‘I was surprised’… Gary Lineker shocked by something £30m Arsenal star did against Chelsea

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Heading into the international break, Arsenal fans will probably have mixed emotions after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

On the one hand, some Arsenal supporters will feel as if Mikel Arteta’s side have blown their Premier League title chances. 

Arsenal are now nine points behind Liverpool and four behind Manchester City – they’re going to have to be flawless to make up the gap.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	11	9	1	1	21	6	15	28
2	Man CityManchester City	11	7	2	2	22	13	9	23
3	ChelseaChelsea	11	5	4	2	21	13	8	19
4	ArsenalArsenal	11	5	4	2	18	12	6	19
5	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	11	5	4	2	15	10	5	19
6	BrightonBrighton	11	5	4	2	19	15	4	19

However, there will also be fans in N5 who have seen a real reason for optimism in recent performances, even if Arsenal failed to beat Inter Milan or Chelsea.

Arsenal have negated some incredibly tough away fixtures already this season, and having Martin Odegaard back right now is a huge positive moving forward.

Martin Odegaard plays 90 minutes against Chelsea after Arsenal injury return

That being said, when speaking on ‘The Rest is Football’ podcast, Gary Lineker mentioned something Odegaard did which really ‘surprised’ him on his return.

Lineker couldn’t believe that the Arsenal captain played 90 minutes against Chelsea so soon after returning from a lengthy injury.

READ MORE: £50m Arsenal star has really lost his edge this season, and he proved it against Chelsea

Alan Shearer then agreed and made a prediction of what might happen at Premier League clubs over the next few days.

Lineker said: “Real bonus for them, Odegaard coming back. Although I was surprised he played the whole game.

“Testament to his, obviously, match fitness, which is, because it’s difficult isn’t, when you come back from being out for quite a long time.”

Shearer replied: “See what happens at international level now with a lot of players, not only Arsenal.

“I think, don’t be surprised if you see a load of pull outs from international players from their countries, and rather than going to play Nations League, or wherever, you’ll actually see them have a bit of a rest.

“And I’m sure that they’ll come out and say they may be injured or whatever, but it will be more to have a rest, I think, and I think there will be loads of them this next couple of days.”

Has Martin Odegaard been called up by Norway?

Despite making his injury return just before the international break, Odegaard hasn’t been called up by Norway. 

Arsenal fans will be extremely grateful that Norway manager Stale Solbakken chose the cautious route with their captain this time around.

Odegaard will now be able to recover over the coming weeks, preparing himself to face Nottingham Forest.

And although the Norwegian was excellent against Chelsea, Gary Neville thought a different Arsenal player stood out the most during 1-1 draw.

A difficult period for Arteta’s team, but one they can definitely turn around with a fully fit squad.