Mikel Arteta was a happy man after Arsenal beat Olympiacos in their Champions League clash.
The Gunners were the superior side for large parts of the game. They took the lead through Gabriel Martinelli after some brilliant work by Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal continued to dominate the game, but they just couldn’t take their chances.
Bukayo Saka, who came on as a substitute, added a second late in the tie to seal the victory for the North Londoners.
One player could’ve and should’ve scored much earlier.
Mikel Arteta hails Martin Odegaard despite his ‘big open chance’ miss
Martin Odegaard produced his best performance of the season when Arsenal faced Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Norway international is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, but he had a difficult 2024/25 season.
That led to a ton of criticism, and two shoulder injuries at the start of this campaign complicated things further for the Arsenal captain.
However, after changing the game for Arsenal against Newcastle United, Odegaard started and delivered against Olympiacos on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta was blown away by his performance, even though he missed what the Arsenal manager felt was a ‘big open chance’.
He told TNT Sports about Odegaard: “He was phenomenal. I think he influenced the game in a manner that is very important with us, because he continued to play forward, carrying the ball, putting people through on goal and generated some big chances for his teammates.
“He should’ve scored a goal himself in the big open chance that he had, but very good to have him back at this level.”
Martin Odegaard’s stats for Arsenal vs Olympiacos will blow you away
Odegaard’s first-ever goal for Arsenal was a screamer against Olympiacos during his loan spell.
The Norwegian could not recreate that on Wednesday night, but he absolutely ran the show from start to finish to help Arsenal win their second Champions League game of the season.
According to Squawka, Odegaard had the most touches of the ball (86), most passes in the final third (26), won the most possessions (8), created the most chances (4) and also delivered the most crosses (4).
The Norwegian should’ve had more assists in the game, but Bukayo Saka was the only one who converted the chance he created.
If Odegaard continues to play like this, Arsenal will be a very difficult team to stop this season.
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