"Very good": Arteta hints £30m Arsenal star is ready to start vs Olympiacos
Arsenal host Greek outfit Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the game, the Gunners don’t have any fresh injury concerns to worry about.
Speaking at today’s press conference, manager Mikel Arteta was posed with several questions.
One of those was focused on Martin Odegaard, who made a match-winning contribution off the bench against Newcastle United.
Arteta was asked whether the club captain is fit to start, and he replied: “It was very good [against Newcastle].
“He came on and immediately you could see the desire and the responsibility to get in the game, to try to change it.
“His decision making, the way he approached every ball and he made a difference to help us win the game.”
Odegaard has had a difficult start to the season with the Gunners. He has been sidelined with two unfortunate shoulder injuries.
The Norwegian only managed 20 minutes in the Liverpool loss, while he was completely ruled out for the draw against Manchester City.
The 26-year-old made his comeback against the Magpies at St James’ Park.
He had a lively outing and delivered a quality corner for Gabriel Magalhaes’ 96th-minute winner.
Odegaard looked back to his best after another injury lay-off. We won’t be surprised if he gets the nod in the starting XI tomorrow.
The £30 million signing was impressive, operating from a left-sided number 10 position against Newcastle, compared to his usual role, which has a right side bias.
It remains to be seen whether Odegaard features in a similar position against Olympiacos at the Emirates.
Odegaard generally links up play with Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber on the right flank.
Hopefully, we can see more of the same on the left wing with Eberechi Eze or Gabriel Martinelli.
Arsenal are winless against Olympiacos at home in the last three meetings. They have the opportunity to end the streak with a strong performance capped with plenty of goals.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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