Arteta hails 'exceptional' Odegaard after Chelsea rout

Cameron Smith

• 23 Apr 2024 22:45 BST
• 3 min read

Mikel Arteta has hailed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard following his immense performance during the Gunners’ 5-0 demolition of Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Odegaard, 25, grabbed two assists on the night and pulled the strings in midfield as Arsenal ran riot against their London rivals.

Goals from Leandro Trossard, Benjamin White (x2) and Kai Havertz (x2) helped the Gunners to their biggest ever win against Chelsea, but Odegaard was the standout man for Arteta’s side.

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The Norway international made a whopping eight key passes during the game, while he also completed three dribbles and won eight ground duels.

Odegaard was handed a 9.0 match rating by Football Critic and Arteta was quick to praise his captain during his post-match press conference.

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What has Mikel Arteta said about Martin Odegaard?

When asked whether he spotted ‘something special’ about Odegaard during his time at Real Madrid, Arteta responded: “We saw [his talent] and Edu especially was very insistent. We both agreed he was a player with huge talent who could develop with us. We had the loan period. He was exceptional. He was convinced he could add something special to the team and he kept going.”

TNT Sports pundit and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand then asked Arteta if he's been surprised by Odegaard’s leadership skills since being named Arsenal captain.

“That’s always a question,” the Spaniard replied. “How do you handle yourself when you have to stand in front of everybody and represent the club?

“He’s done it in an amazing way and he’s so natural. He’s loved by everybody. He’s not someone who’s going to be knocking on your door and shouting. But the way he leads in his game and the way he loves this game, it’s more than enough to convince everyone to follow him.”

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table thanks to their 5-0 victory over Chelsea, although Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will leapfrog them if they win both of their games in hand.