Garth Crooks showers praise on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard after his impressive performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arsenal further consolidated their position at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
The Gunners captain Martin Odegaard put in a five-star performance reminiscent of his displays from last season, and BBC pundit Garth Crooks was impressed with what he saw from the Norwegian.
He scored what proved to be the winner as Arsenal held on to their victory despite a late rally from Wolves, and the goal could prove crucial in the title race.
“I’ve seen Odegaard look something like the player he was for Arsenal last season,” Crooks wrote in his Team of the Week column.
“His goal was struck beautifully, but he was also back controlling the game from the centre of midfield and setting up chances for his teammates to score out of nothing.
“The Gunners are not playing the most scintillating football I’ve seen from them, but they are winning games.”
Odegaard has now bagged four goals and an assist in 11 Premier League appearances this term, and he is still some way off his form from last term.
The 24-year-old ended 2022-23 with 15 goals and seven assists in 37 league games, and Arsenal need him to step up this term to boost their chances of going one better in the title race.
Fortunately, he showed glimpses of his old self against Wolves with his entire performance, and he will be eager to finally hit the ground running and reproduce the top display against Luton Town on Tuesday and Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Gunners are involved in action from now until January 6, and playing week in, week out could finally see Odegaard hit top gear with the international breaks likely to have impeded his consistency earlier on in the campaign.
Arsenal need their captain to be on top of his game if they want to win the title, and manager Mikel Arteta will be glad with what he saw from him on Saturday and hope he starts replicating such performance consistently
