Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard for another match-winning moment as his goal sealed a 1-0 victory over Napoli on Wednesday that the Gunners boss said did not reflect a “remarkable” performance from his side.
Last season’s runners-up began their Champions League campaign with a win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona that was settled by Odegaard’s 75th-minute bullet strike on a night they racked up 26 shots, a club record away from home in the competition.
Odegaard has started the 2026/27 in sensational form, scoring four goals in five games, including back-to-back winners against Chelsea and Napoli.
It marks a notable change in output from the Arsenal skipper, who scored one goal in 36 appearances in all competitions last season, and Arteta was asked about the attacking midfielder’s increased productivity in front of goal.
“First of all, he needs to be available, and last year he missed so many games through injuries,” Arteta said.
“He’s got that edge and he’s got different relationships around him as well. That helps.
“Now he can start to occupy some different heights in the team, especially in the attacking phase. When we get him into those positions, he’s a really dangerous player.”
“What we need is players with that mindset to decide a game,” he added.
“To play with that personality, that if an action might not happen, the next one, the next one, keep taking chances and risks.
“He’s getting into those positions much more in recent games and you feel he has this emotional state that he knows the ball can go in, and he scored an incredible goal tonight.”
Arsenal have started the season strongly, winning all three of their Premier League games after brushing Manchester City aside in the Community Shield last month.
“(I’m) very happy,” said Arteta, who felt the result undersold the quality of his team’s display in Naples.
“The way we attacked the game from the very first minute, the way we competed, the clarity we had with how we had to attack them to disorganise them, the purpose, the quality. The amount of chances we generated.
“For sure the scoreline has to reflect a very different result. We’ll get there, because if we were a bit more precise it would have been much bigger.
“But to do what we’ve done today in this stadium against this opponent, is remarkable from the team.”
For Napoli, the defeat marked another setback for new coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose side suffered a third consecutive loss in all competitions following Serie A reverses to Como and Inter.
Injuries to key players Scott McTominay and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa complicated matters for Allegri, who targeted three points in their next league game on Sunday.
“To get back on track, we need a solid win against Bologna, which won’t be easy,” Allegri said.
“There is definitely some bitterness and disappointment; we are coming off three defeats.
“I liked the performance technically, but in the second half we lacked the legs; (Billy) Gilmour and (Kevin) De Bruyne were playing their first games.
“We need to stay calm and collected. If we defended at certain points in the game like we did in the second half tonight, we might not have lost against Como and Inter.”
Source: Khaleej Times