Jamie Carragher praises Arsenal star’s ‘world-class play’ | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher has praised Martin Odegaard for “world-class play” against Newcastle United, arguing he could be key to an Arsenal title challenge.

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When Martin Odegaard entered the field of play during Sunday’s match between Newcastle United and Arsenal, the hosts held a 1-0 lead. 14 minutes later, the Gunners were 2-1 up and preparing to leave with 3 points.

Though it was only a brief cameo for the midfielder, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher insists Odegaard’s introduction was a pivotal moment in the contest.

“I want to go back to this man, Martin Odegaard, who I think changed the game when he came on,” Carragher said. “He knows that pass from Declan Rice is coming to him, he’s already scanning where [he] can hurt Newcastle.

“He knows the ball’s coming to him, he sees that space in between the two Newcastle defenders, and that is absolutely world class play. He was the difference when he came on.”

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Carragher went on to suggest that if Arsenal are going to have any chance of winning the Premier League title, Odegaard will be a key figure in their title charge.

“I think if they are to go on and win the league, what we saw Odegaard do on the ball in the lead-up to the corner, they’re going to need more of that. People between the lines,” Carragher suggested.

“If they can get Martin Odegaard back to where he was a couple of years ago in those positions, threading passes through, that would give them a great chance of the league title.”

Photo via Odegaard on Instagram

Though not many people have been talking about it, Odegaard’s absence for Arsenal has been a significant one in the early weeks of the season.

The Gunners don’t really have a ready-made replacement for Odegaard, with Ethan Nwaneri the closest. Nwaneri has made less than half of his appearances for Arsenal as a midfielder, more commonly coming on as a winger last season, so it’s not a like-for-like swap.

So with Odegaard playing just 174 of Arsenal’s first 720 minutes of the campaign, it’s inevitable the team would suffer. The hope is that he can get fit and stay fit now.