Odegaard, Rice, Merino and Madueke all shine – Arsenal internationals round-up | OneFootball

It was a very successful round of international fixtures for a number of Arsenal stars, none more so than Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino.

The Arsenal captain was a starter in the 11-1 thrashing of Moldova that helped Norway to their fifth win from five in their World Cup qualifying group.

Odegaard had an almost flawless performance, registering a goal and two assists. He created an astounding seven chances and won nine duels in the game.

Elsewhere, Merino scored a hat-trick as Spain beat Turkey 3-0. The midfielder was one of four players who seriously impressed on the night.

Lamine Yamal got two assists, Mikel Oyarzabal registered three, and Pedri scored twice. Mikel Arteta deployed Merino as a striker at times last season but surely even he could not have foreseen this…

New Arsenal signing Noni Madueke excelled as he scored his first international goal during England’s 5-0 demolition of Serbia.

Madueke was one of three who scored their first England goal on the night, alongside Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi.

The 23-year-old has impressed in both of the Three Lion’s games during this international break. With Bukayo Saka not expected back until late September, Madueke’s performances will have encouraged both Gunners’ fans and manager Arteta.

Declan Rice was also a standout performer during England’s latest win – their fifth from five in World Cup qualifying.

The Arsenal midfielder managed two assists from set-pieces, one for Harry Kane and another for Guehi.

Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres struggled as Sweden succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Kosovo. He started up front in a two with Anthony Elanga but failed to see much of the ball. The Gunners’ striker only managed an XG of 0.14 in the game and just a single shot on target.

Elsewhere, Leandro Trossard started in Belgium’s 6-0 win over Kazakhstan but it was a disappointing night for him personally.

He was taken off after 63 minutes and was the only one of the four forward players for Rudi Garcia’s side that failed to register either a goal or an assist during the rout.