02 December 2023 , 20:00
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Martin Odegaard looked back to his best for Arsenal on Saturday after a slow start to the season by his standards.
The Gunners captain hasn't been able to hit the heights he enjoyed last term so far this time around, but was one of Arsenal's stand-out performers against Wolves at the Emirates. Odegaard's stellar display came just days after he was the subject of a brutal review from an old Highbury hero in Emmanuel Petit.
The Frenchman speculated over whether Odegaard was suffering from playing too many matches, as the steep decline in form compared to last season is evident according to Petit. He told Lord Ping: "My main worry is players burning out by not getting enough rest because that has cost Arsenal over the last couple of seasons; they’ve lost some really important players to injury.
"I think the same thing has happened a little bit this season. Odegaard is not the same player as he was last season at the moment. He looks a bit sloppy in everything that he is doing, and he looks tired mentally and physically.
‘It’s not easy to play every three days and to also play for your country. I’m very worried about [Bukayo] Saka [too]. He plays in nearly every single game – I can’t remember the last time he missed a game for Arsenal – and you can see that he isn’t playing at the same level as he did last season."
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It is a tad ironic that both of Arsenal's goalscorers in the 2-1 win over Wolves were Saka and Odegaard. Both goals came inside the opening 13 minutes in what was a fantastic start from Arteta's side, who have often started games slowly this term.
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Martin Odegaard netted Arsenal's second against WolvesSaka opened the scoring with a driven, right-footed effort from close range before Odegaard netted what is quickly becoming his trademark goal, a expertly-taken finish after ghosting into the penalty area and finding some space. Matheus Cunha pulled one back for Wolves late on to ensure it was a tense ending at the Emirates.
Odegaard dons the armband at Arsenal for good reason and used his post-match media duties as a chance to remind the Gunners of how they need to maintain their dominance for as long as possible in games. "We started so strong again," the 25-year-old explained. "The first half was brilliant.
"We scored two good goals and dominated everything. We let them in a little bit with the goal, but that’s football. I guess we have to learn from that. “We know in the Premier League that you can never switch off. Today was a good example of that. We have to make sure we do even better next time we go 2-0 up."