Your team has hit a creative rut that coincided with the absence of your primary playmaker? Get him back and all your problems evaporate. So yes, the semi-frequent leaden-footed attacking, sterile possession and clumsy decision-making that reared its unfamiliar head at Arsenal over the last two months was nothing more than a team unable to cope without Martin Odegaard.

On his own, Martin Odegaard is an exceptionally good footballer. The same is patently true of Bukayo Saka. Both players are undoubtedly among the very best in the Premier League.For Arsenal, though, the real beauty of having these two is that they are even better when they are together.

EMIRATES STADIUM — Arsenal supporters may have felt a pang of apprehension when they saw Mikel Arteta‘s much-changed team for the visit of high-flying Nottingham Forest. Arsenal’s recent wobble has provoked questions about the strength of their squad.

LONDON - Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal team "flows in a different way" when Martin Odegaard is playing after the Gunners crushed Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Satu

Arsenal struck gold with the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid. Back in August 2021, the Gunners managed to sign the Norway international for just £30m – having initially taken him on a loan deal in January 2021.