'Phenomenal': Mikel Arteta lavishes praise on Arsenal star after Olympiacos win | OneFootball

Captain Martin Odegaard returned to the starting line-up and was a step above

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Mikel Arteta hailed Martin Odegaard for his “phenomenal” performance as Arsenal beat Olympiacos.

The Norwegian has had a disrupted start to the season due to a shoulder injury, but he was back to his best against Olympiacos.

And Arteta has heaped praise on his captain for the way he dominated much of the game.

“He’s got all the licence in the world to go forward, Martin, and to play with that freedom, and to play with that level of threat,” he said.

“Especially, not only with the passes, but the way he was taking the ball, carrying the ball, making runs and arriving in really dangerous areas.

“I think he put three people through today to score a goal. He should have scored a goal as well. So, great to have him back. He played some very good minutes in Newcastle to help us to win the game, and I think today he was phenomenal.

“I think that creativity is part of his nature. It doesn’t bring any pressure to him because it’s his best ability to generate things that not a lot of players can do.

“He has total freedom from my side to do and to explore and to take risks and to feel the movement and where he needs to be to generate those spaces. I think he’s certainly done that in the last two games.”

Odegaard was a real threat in the first half and he had a big hand in Arsenal’s opening goal.

The midfielder played through Viktor Gyokeres with a perfect through-ball and, when the Swede hit the post, Gabriel Martinelli was on hand to score the rebound.

“I think we have to play to his qualities, and when we have a front three with that pace as well, with those timings in the runs, players can activate and we have to do that 100 per cent,” said Arteta.

“He did it in Newcastle, he went a few times in 15 minutes, and that’s a game that I want from him.”