Three goals in three games - Is Odegaard finally stepping up for Arsenal?

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 11 Dec 2021 16:58 GMT
• 2 min read

There was little doubt that Mikel Arteta needed his Arsenal midfield to step up when they took to the field against Southampton on Saturday.

Despite their guests being on a poor run of form, the Arsenal manager was forced to drop star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from his matchday squad after what would only be described as a “disciplinary breach” prior to the game.

Of course, Arsenal still had Alexandre Lacazette in their ranks and the wantaway French striker even opened the scoring after 20 minutes, when he picked up a pass from Bukayo Saka and fired the ball into the top right corner with little concern. But there was more to come from Arsenal.

With the game still largely in the balance, it was down to Martin Odegaard to put it beyond doubt when he stepped up just six minutes later to bag a second for Arsenal and all three points for his side.

With a smart assist from Kieran Tierney, the Norway international found space in the box to latch on to the cross and tucked the ball into the back of the net with a terrific header. A goal and performance that Arteta desperately craved.

Odegaard’s turn in form

There were certainly question marks over Odegaard when he made the £31.5 million move to London in the summer and subsequently struggled to nail down a starting role in Arteta’s squad, with just one goal from six starts in the Premier League.

However, since then the former Real Madrid prodigy has seemingly found his shooting boots and has now stuck the ball in the back of the net in three consecutive league games for Arsenal. Which now brings his tally in the English top flight to four - level with the aforementioned Aubameyang.

That’s not to say Odegaard is now Arsenal’s talisman - he’s still some way behind Emile Smith Rowe - but in a season that has seen Arteta have to wrestle his strikers into form and consistency on a regular basis, the team’s only success has come from midfielders like Odegaard stepping up when they’re needed the most.