Arsenal star’s six-word reply makes Martin Odegaard influence clear
Martin Odegaard dazzled in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest with Mikel Arteta and Riccardo Calafiori both lavish in their praise of the Gunners captain
by Alan Smith · The MirrorMartin Odegaard was hailed as the glue that binds Arsenal together after his first home appearance since August yielded handsome rewards, with Riccardo Calafiori claiming: "When he’s missing we feel it.”
The captain created six chances in 81 dazzling minutes with his return from an ankle injury seeming to propel Bukayo Saka back to his best.
Mikel Arteta claimed few players can rival Odegaard’s “fluidity, understanding, chemistry, timing”, adding: “when he's on the team, you can sense something that is different. “It's difficult to put a finger on it but it’s different.”
And full back Riccardo Calafiori backed that up by saying: “I can’t tell you one thing but you can feel it whether he is on or off the pitch."
“You can feel it when he’s missing. He gives us a lot of energy and quality. Him and Bukayo, what they did was unbelievable. It’s good to have them back.”
Arteta added of Odegaard's influence: "To have this kind of player in the team is always the right time. To manage the tempo of the game, when to slow it down, when to control it.
"Obviously he’s been missed. I value that because it's very difficult to do after five or six weeks out.
"[His impact] doesn't surprise me because I've seen him every day, how he looks after himself, how much he wants it, the energy that he puts in and the courage that he has to play in any circumstances.
"Obviously, when he's on the team, you can sense something that is different. It's difficult to put a finger on it but it’s different.
The Gunners now enter a period where they play eight times in four weeks across three competitions.
Calafiori accepts it is a period that will shape their season, saying “we’re prepared for this”, but he insists no one is looking too closely at the league table.
“No because the season is so long,” he added. “You cannot just think about it now. From my side I only think about winning the next game and the whole team has the same idea as me.”
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