How Mikel Arteta transformed Arsenal into title contenders again
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has opened up on his admiration for one of his players.
The Gunners have been fairly underwhelming so far this season, but a five-game winning streak would put them right back in the race for the Premier League title.
In fairness to Mikel Arteta, he has had to deal with real adversity so far this season.
Arsenal have been on the wrong end of numerous poor refereeing decisions, with Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and William Saliba all being handed red cards on separate occasions.
The Gunners have endured terrible injury problems as well, with a boatload of key players missing at different times throughout the season.
And one specific player’s absence this term has been particularly difficult to deal with.
Mikel Arteta raves about ‘unique’ Arsenal star
The Gunners boss has a whole host of exceptionally gifted footballers at his disposal at The Emirates.
However, he singled out Martin Odegaard for praise.
When speaking to Norwegian publication VG, Arteta absolutely raved about his captain Odegaard.
The Gunners boss said, “Everyone is unique, Martin is unique. His personality, his characteristics, the way he has been raised is at the absolute highest level.
“He is everything we could dream of as a representative of our club and team.”
“A huge player for us. He shows time and again what he delivers in big games, through the spark he brings to the team.”
Arteta is spot on – Odegaard makes Arsenal tick, and they are simply not the same team without him.
The Norway international possesses incredible technical ability, he presses from the front with great enthusiasm and energy and he is a real leader in every sense.
Keeping Martin Odegaard fit for the remainder of the season will be crucial to Mikel Arteta’s hopes of guiding Arsenal to glory.
Whether he is able to avoid injuries between now and May remains to be seen though.