LONDON, NOV 24 – Mikel Arteta said his side’s style of play ‘flowed in a different way’ with the arrival of Martin Odegaard after the Gunners thrashed Nottingham Forest 3-0 yesterday to end their winless run.
Stunning goals from Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey and a first Premier League goal for teenager Ethan Nwaneri gave Arsenal their first win in five league games, reviving their title challenge.
Arsenal, Premier League runners-up for the past two seasons, have made a strong start to a previously lackluster campaign and they started yesterday nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
The win at the Emirates moved them to 22 points level with third-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal took the lead in the 15th minute when Saka exchanged passes with Odegaard on the edge of the area before firing a left-footed shot into the net.
Captain Odegaard made his first appearance at the Emirates since the end of August and showed just how much Arsenal have missed two months of action through injury.
Partey doubled Arsenal’s lead early in the second half after receiving Saka’s 20-yard pass before firing a shot past Matz Sels into the net.
Seventeen-year-old Nwaneri capitalized on Raheem Sterling’s pass to complete the win in the 86th minute.
“I think we started very well,” Arteta told BBC. “The feeling I felt in the last 48 hours after the international break, all the players are back together and we all agree.”
Speaking about Odegaard, who returned to action at Inter Milan earlier this month, he said: “It’s not a coincidence. The team plays a different way when he is there.”
And he also had kind words for Nwaneri, “He is the second youngest (Premier League goalscorer) in our history,” said Arteta. “That is its own story.
“He is brave. You see the reaction of the fans while singing He’s one of our own. I think we need to ‘lay brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn’t dry’. Hopefully we can build something beautiful with him,” added Arteta. – AFP
