Fan presenter and pundit Mark Goldbridge has heaped praise on an Arsenal star who has had his fair share of criticism this season, reacting as the Gunners put seven goals past PSV in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Arsenal put goalscoring woes behind them in 7-1 rout at PSV
Mikel Arteta’s side had failed to score a goal in three of their last four fixtures in all competitions heading into their trip to the Philips Stadium, but ripped their hosts to shreds courtesy of goals from Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard, Riccardo Calafiori and a brace from Martin Odegaard.
That all but confirms the Gunners’ place in the last eight of the competition, where they will come face to face with one of the giants of the Spanish capital, with Real Madrid leading 2-1 against Atletico ahead of the second leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
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Focus of course now shifts to finding that goalscoring touch in domestic action with a trip to Manchester United up next, with project Merino faltering since the win at Leicester and the effects of injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus laid bare.
And while few could blame a manager who has lost both of his recognised striker options to injury, plenty have pointed to the lack of creativity behind Arteta’s front line as a problem for the Spaniard, with Bukayo Saka’s absence also felt and £240,000-a-week captain Odegaard struggling for form.
Indeed, the Norwegian has just two goals and three assists to his name in Premier League action this season, creating 2.1 chances per game. To put that into perspective, he scored eight and set up a further ten in the top flight last term, creating 2.9 chances per outing.
Some Arsenal fans have even called for Odegaard to be stripped of his captaincy after they deemed him to be shirking responsbility during the defeat against West Ham, while Norway legend John Arne Riise accused him of “playing safe”.
“When he is struggling, he seems to play safe – square passes. Even though he wants the ball, he doesn’t dare to try anything because if he misses then he looks bad. He just needs to find his confidence and play how we know he can.”
Goldbridge reacts to Odegaard's man of the match display vs PSV
Taking to Twitter during Arsenal’s imperious display, during which Odegaard also picked up an assist, Goldbridge, often seen on TalkSPORT and well known for his Manchester United rants on social media, heaped praise on the much maligned Gunners skipper and said he’s exactly what United need.
That’s not to say there are any visions of a Robin van Persie-esque move to Old Trafford, but it’s certainly fair to say United could do with someone of the Norwegian’s ilk in their midfield. The Red Devils have often struggled for goals under Ruben Amorim, with chief strikers Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee registering just five strikes between them in the league this season.
Like in North London, this could feasibly be put down to a lack of chances being created, and United are believed to be taking steps to secure their own playmaker extraordinaire with a move for Florian Wirtz.
The Bayer Leverkusen star is expected to cost well upwards of £100m this summer, but INEOS have Wirtz high on their priority list and believe he could have a similar impact to the one Odegaard brought with him to the Emirates.
1,553
Minutes
1,868
2
Goals
9
3
Assists
10
2.1
Key passes per game
2
1.5
Shots per game
2.8
0.9
Dribbles per game
3