Arsenal got the better of Real Madrid over two legs in a very convincing way.
Not many people gave the Gunners a chance against the European champions, but Mikel Arteta got his tactics spot on in both games.
Arsenal won 5-1 on aggregate, and this tie will go down in history as one of the club’s best ever games in the Champions League.
Several Arsenal players deserve special praise for their performances against Real Madrid in the two games, but Micah Richards was blown away by one player in particular at the Bernabeu.
Micah Richards explains why Martin Odegaard was Arsenal’s Player of the Match vs Real Madrid
Declan Rice won the Player of the Match award in both legs against Real Madrid.
The Englishman undoubtedly deserved the award in the first leg. Rice scored two incredible free-kicks to help Arsenal beat the Galacticos 3-0 at the Emirates.
In the second leg, he was fantastic again. He didn’t score or assist, but as Ian Wright said, Rice wiped the floor with Real Madrid in the middle of the park.
Bukayo Saka was another player who was excellent against the Spanish giants, while Myles Lewis-Skelly showed immense character and personality as well.
But, Richards has named Martin Odegaard as his Player of the Match for one very specific reason.
He said on the Rest is Football podcast: “I know Lewis-Skelly, I said in the first leg, he was outstanding and Rice was too. But, my Player of the Match yesterday (Wednesday) was Odegaard.
“Only because you can go to the Bernabeu and you can hide, but he was always available for a pass to get Arsenal out. When you’re watching on TV, you’ll see Declan making these amazing runs and tackles and all that sort of stuff, but when Arsenal had to get out, Odegaard was the one orchestrating that.
“I just thought he had a sensational performance, not in terms of goals, assists and all that, but wanting the ball. That was most important there. He didn’t freeze at all.”
READ MORE: Martin Odegaard says he would love it if player Arsene Wenger sold for £16m still played for Arsenal
Fans must understand one thing about Martin Odegaard
Odegaard has come under a lot of criticism for some of his performances this season.
The Norway international was one of the Gunners’ best players in each of the last two years, but he hasn’t quite been the same this time around.
Odegaard himself has admitted that he hasn’t been good enough this season, but the one thing fans cannot deny is that he always gives his everything on the pitch.
As Richards said above, Odegaard never hides and always makes himself available for a pass, even when things are not going his way.
That deserves a lot of praise, and fans must stick with him through this difficult period because everyone knows how good he can be when he returns to his best.
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