Martin Odegaard: Creativity in ‘phenomenal’ Arsenal captain’s nature – Mikel Arteta

Starting against Olympiacos, Odegaard dictated play alongside Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino and, as well as providing chances, he was denied a goal by a superb Konstantinos Tzolakis save and follow-up block by defender Panagiotis Retsos.

“He has all the licence in the world to go forward,” said Arteta. “And to play with that freedom and with that level of play, level of threat.

“Not only with the passes; the way he was taking the ball and carrying the ball and making runs and arriving in dangerous areas.

“He put three people through to score a goal, he should have scored a goal as well. Great to have him back, he played some very good minutes in Newcastle to help us win the game and I think [here] he was phenomenal.”

Arsenal have changed their style of play this season, adopting a more direct approach to get the most out of their new signings and particularly striker Viktor Gyokeres.

The Swede’s strong burst into the box ended with Tzolakis pushing the finish on to the post and Martinelli tapped in the rebound for the 12th-minute opener.

It followed a pass from Odegaard, who said: “That is what I want to do, especially with those forward players, especially with Viktor who is so aggressive and always a threat.

“That is my job, to create things for them. I could have had a few more assists, but we got the win and I enjoyed it.”

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