Rejuvenated by his goal on Saturday and free from injuries that have disrupted his season, Arsenal’s captain led their destruction of Villa
W
hen Arsenal really needed Martin Ødegaard, the captain finally rediscovered his magic touch. Gabriel Magalhães had just opened the scoring against Aston Villa after a first half in which Mikel Arteta’s nervous side were struggling without the influential Declan Rice. Then it happened.
Jadon Sancho was waiting to receive a pass from Youri Tielemens inside Villa’s half but, before the forward knew it, Ødegaard had pinched the ball and was haring towards Emiliano Martínez’s goal. A jink back on to his left foot fooled Tielemens and allowed Ødegaard to play through the perfect through ball for Martín Zubimendi to score the crucial second. It was the fifth goal or assist that Zubimendi has contributed to since he joined in the summer – the joint-best return of his club career – and the Spaniard’s impact was rightly hailed by a delighted Arteta. “Credit to his teammates as well, how easy they make it for him,” said the Arsenal manager in a nod to Ødegaard.
The Norway international, who scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the win over Brighton on Saturday, also had a hand in Leandro Trossard’s third goal with a devilish cross that Villa failed to clear, and looked back to his best after injuries affected him both last season and the first half of this one. Ødegaard had more touches and shots than any other Arsenal player, even if he couldn’t cap his performance with a deserved goal.
