Pundits and commentators alike will be mentally dissecting Arsenal’s ludicrous 7-1 hammering of PSV in the Champions League for years to come.
You could forgive the casual observer for wondering how on earth the Gunners managed to score seven goals whilst their forward line was largely decimated by injuries.
For the record, Mikel Arteta’s men were missing Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli as they took on the reigning Eredivisie champions.
Absolutely no problem for Arsenal who, with a significant helping hand from Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, absolutely blew their opposition away in enemy territory.
Martin Odegaard delivered a classic Champions League display
It was a great team performance from the visitors, but it would be remiss of analysts not to single out skipper Odegaard for his world-class display on Tuesday night.
As it turned out, the midfield technician didn’t need a helping hand from the on-pitch official after having been fairly denied a first-half penalty.
The Norway international more than earned his 9.2/10 rating from Sofascore, as he glided across the pitch, providing one assist and scoring twice in Arsenal’s seven-goal mauling of PSV.
The classy midfielder also picked up:
53 touches
86% pass success rate (37/43)
3 key passes
1 big chance created
1/3 dribbles completed
2/6 ground duels won
Chris Sutton in awe of Odegaard display v PSV
You get the impression that commentators are running out of superlatives to describe Odegaard’s ability.
Chris Sutton was highly complimentary of the ex-Real Madrid star’s assist for Riccardo Calafiori’s goal on BBC Radio 5 Live (via BBC Sport): “The deftness of the pass, a pass of brilliance from Martin Odegaard. Riccardo Calafiori feeds the ball past Walter Benitez.”
It just looks effortless for the 26-year-old Arsenal captain who played a crucial role in putting Peter Bosz’s men to the sword.
The Gunners’ rivals may scoff and shrug at the tie given the comparative quality of the opposition to the likes of Liverpool’s upcoming PSG clash.
However, the significance of killing off a first-leg tie ahead of a meeting with one of Madrid’s footballing sides can’t be understated.
