Pundit praises ‘perfect’ moment Odegaard produced for Arsenal v Bournemouth

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BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has heaped praise on Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard for his performance against Bournemouth.

Martin Odegaard was in fine form for Arsenal as the north London club cruised to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. The Norwegian star got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot, and grabbed an assist for Ben White’s late goal.

Odegaard was generally at the heart of everything the Gunners did well in this match, as he has been on so many occasions in recent seasons. The importance of the 24-year-old to Mikel Arteta cannot be overstated, and has been underlined by the club’s recent decision to hand the player a new long-term contract.

Keeping the 53-cap Norway international fit and full of confidence is going to be vital in terms of Arsenal’s ambitions for this season. He is a real leader for the team on the pitch, and his individual quality is so important to the way Arteta’s team play in terms of defending from the front and building their own attacks.

Odegaard as a creative force

Garth Crooks was certainly impressed by what he saw from Odegaard on Saturday. Writing in his Team of the Week column, the BBC Sport pundit said, “his was more of a stroll down memory lane than a walk in the park for Arsenal away at Bournemouth…Odegaard put one of the penalties away before being brought down for another and then providing the perfect cross for Ben White to add Arsenal’s fourth goal.”

Odegaard’s assist for White was his first of the season. Whilst he has been in fine goalscoring form, the No. 8 is also important to Arsenal as a creator. He will be aiming to surpass his tally of eight assists in the Premier League last season this time around. Given his vision and ability to thread an intricate pass, he has the capacity to set up goals with greater regularity.

Arteta will be hoping for another high class and influential display from Odegaard when Arsenal take on reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.