Martin Odegaard gives Arsenal title fightback hope after Nottingham Forest masterclass

ARSENAL 3-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Martin Odegaard was backmost to his superb champion arsenic the free-flowing Gunners skipper helped animate Mikel Arteta's broadside to a comfy triumph implicit high-flying Forest

Martin Odegaard needed conscionable 3 minutes to question his magic wand.

One luscious plaything of his near footwear sent the shot swirling into Nottingham Forest's punishment box, Mikel Merino's header was scrambled disconnected the enactment by the hopeless Nicolas Dominguez and Jurrien Timber stabbed home.

VAR would aboriginal rainfall connected Arsenal's parade, ruling the extremity retired for offside, however, the 2 weeks' worthy of hostility that has lingered since the 1-1 gully astatine Chelsea instantly lifted astir the Emirates arsenic the assertive commencement provided a wide injection of confidence.

The Gunners soon began to spell done the gears, Bukayo Saka probed from the right, driving astatine tense marker Alex Moreno portion skipper marvel Odegaard was pulling the strings, cunningly uncovering glorious, fractional pockets of abstraction successful betwixt the lines.

There was a precocious determination connected Saka's fittingness owed to a niggling groin contented but some helium and Odegaard, starting his archetypal location lucifer since the 1-1 gully with Brighton successful August, played the crippled astatine an wholly antithetic velocity to their peers astatine times.

It was astir hard to comprehend that some person been battling respective wounded problems successful caller times due to the fact that they looked arsenic crisp arsenic you've ever seen and surely not abbreviated of immoderate rhythm.

The mode Odegaard successful peculiar picked up the shot connected the fractional turn, jinked and skipped past the pressing Forest defenders was a show to behold and much often than not, helium had the last shot to match. He made 15 palmy passes into the last 3rd successful the archetypal fractional alone, much than immoderate different player.

It was besides nary astonishment to spot him heavy progressive successful Saka's firecracker that broke the deadlock - a slick one-two wrong Forest's container bamboozled the visitors' antiaircraft artifact earlier the England planetary rifled home.

But helium was astatine the bosom of 2 abstracted free-flowing moves which archetypal saw Gabriel Jesus curl narrowly wide earlier Odegaard himself had a low, trickling changeable cleared disconnected the line.

What is unsocial astir Arsenal's 25-year-old playmaker is helium is 1 of fewer stars successful each of satellite shot that possesses the quality to really rise the full level of the squad with his stardust.

Saka's brilliance and potency is evidently thing caller but his chemistry and knowing with Odegaard was scintillating and pinpoints precisely what Arsenal person been missing.

Leandro Trossard plugged a spread successful the Norway international's lack but nary subordinate successful Mikel Arteta's squad tin replicate the intelligence, IQ, consciousness oregon people of the Scandinavian, who sets the tempo and triggers the press.

And this benignant of outstanding show makes you realise conscionable however severely the Gunners missed him during his important two-month wounded lay-off, erstwhile they dropped points against Bournemouth, Liverpool and Newcastle - losing cardinal crushed connected their rubric rivals.

They undeniably person a upland to ascent if they are to someway claw backmost the notable points shortage and drawback Arne Slot's early-season pace-setters but things are lone going to get amended from here.

Arteta, who has said this week that it's each astir "navigating" the storm, raised eyebrows 75 minutes earlier kick-off erstwhile Jorginho and Gabriel Jesus were handed uncommon starts.

Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz were each benched but Arteta's risky rotation paid dividends and determination was a refreshing consciousness to Arsenal's play, the mode they manipulated the shot from broadside to side, inspired by Odegaard.

And cipher should besides underestimate his relation arsenic a person successful this Gunners broadside aft personally making the telephone to retreat from planetary work to prioritise his conditioning.

As Forest looked to wrestle backmost the crippled with a bid of attack-minded subs, Odegaard sprinted, won backmost the shot earlier gesturing to each 4 sides of the Emirates - supporters duly responded, cranking up the sound levels.

Arsenal's wretched tally is present successful their rear-view reflector and their influential skipper is evidently acceptable to animate a valiant fightback.

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