Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard share an incredible chemistry at Arsenal.
The Gunners have had a fairly difficult start to the season. They are already nine points behind Liverpool, and the biggest reason for that was Odegaard’s absence when he was injured.
The Norwegian is back and fully fit now, and his combination play with Saka on the right side of Arsenal’s attack has just been too much to handle for the likes of Nottingham Forest, Sporting CP and West Ham.
There has been a lot of talk about Saka and Odegaard’s chemistry on the pitch over the last week. But, they aren’t the only two Arsenal players who share such a great relationship.
Mikel Arteta says two other Arsenal stars have ‘unbelievable’ chemistry
Arteta has built a terrific squad at Arsenal over the last few years.
The Gunners have top-quality players in every position on the pitch, and many of them are capable of winning games on their own at times.
However, teamwork is very important in football, and when two players who play very close to each other have a great understanding, it brings the best out of the team.
Saka and Odegaard’s chemistry is the perfect example of that, and that has been the talk of the town after people watched their last three performances together.
In his press conference ahead of the clash against Manchester United, Arteta was asked if he has seen chemistry as good as the one Saka and Odegaard share in any other players.
The Arsenal boss mentioned Barcelona’s iconic midfield trio of Xavi, Andreas Iniesta and Sergio Busquets before hailing the ‘unbelievable’ chemistry two of his own players share – defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
He said, as relayed on Hayters TV: “Yeah, there are, they can be in this case because they are an attacking midfielder (Odegaard) and a winger (Saka). I have seen centre-backs, I have seen midfielders between them having (great chemistry).
“I just think about Barcelona with Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta – it was something else. They didn’t even need to look at each other.
“But, our two centre-backs (Saliba and Gabriel) as well, naturally there’s a chemistry that’s unbelievable.
“So, we try to develop that more and more because there is something there which is very difficult to put a number on, but it flows in a natural way. The more relationships like this you have in the team, the better.”
Arsenal’s record with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes is stunning
Saliba and Gabriel have formed the best defensive partnership in the Premier League. That has been the case for over two years now.
The Brazilian is the leader at the back and the more aggressive one. Saliba, on the other hand, is a lot more calm and looks classy with the way he defends.
The two centre-halves complement each other perfectly, and Arsenal’s numbers when they have both played together are absolutely remarkable.
Saliba and Gabriel have shared the pitch 96 times in all competitions and Arsenal have won 64 and lost just 18 of those fixtures.
That’s an average of 2.15 points per game, which is very, very impressive considering that neither are in their prime yet.
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