Arsenal played their first Champions League game in six years as PSV were beaten 4-0 at the Emirates on Wednesday night. It was a match where the hosts took command from the start with an early score from Bukayo Saka after Martin Ødegaard’s shot forced a return. The rest of the match was a parade, with Ødegaard in the middle.

– He is very kind. He contributes a lot, he defends, his rhythm, his contribution, his communication and his leadership style. He also got into the final third and contributed to the goal, said coach Mikel Arteta to TV 2 after the game.

– In the form of his life

Ødegaard played 135 minutes of CL football for Real Madrid before Wednesday’s match. They met in two pool games at the end of autumn 2020. Since then, he has scored goals at Arsenal and become a popular captain, and against PSV he also scored his first goal in the Champions League when he pulled off several PSV players and put the ball in. goal. corner.

– This is what I have dreamed of all my life, since I was a little kid playing around. You could see in the pre-match atmosphere how much being here means to the club and the fans. A good start and fun to keep moving. It felt good, Ødegaard himself told TV2 about his own performance.

TV2 experts Jesper Mathisen and Morten Langli believe that the drama sensation is one of the world’s best footballers, and on X/Twitter the discussion continued after the match as to who was better.

– There is no doubt, he plays in a team that can win the Champions League. He is the one who raised this team, said Langli on Fotbalkveld TV 2.

– Ødegaard is in top form, and it’s great to see him playing football during the day. Offensively he was always good, but now he is almost a complete midfielder, added Mathisen.

[ Ødegaard med sitt første mesterligamål da Arsenal banket PSV ]

Received praise from the PSV captain

After the match, TV2 also spoke with PSV striker Luuk de Jong, who also understood the TV2 experts’ point of view. Even though he doesn’t agree.

– I can understand his opinion (Jesper Mathisen), but for me he might not be the best. But he’s up there. He is very intelligent, I like players like that, said the experienced striker and continued:

– Players who know where to position themselves when you try to press them, Ødegaard is that kind of player. He reads the game and the opponent’s pressure. He is in the right places, he also goes up the pitch when they play through pressure. “For me, he is one of Arsenal’s best players,” said Luuk de Jong.

Opta reports that no player completed more passes (31), or attempted more passes in the final third (16) than Ødegaard in the first half. In total, he also ran 12.69 kilometers, which was the most distance traveled among anyone in the field.

– This is invisible work that not many people see. You see it most clearly when you see it in person. He almost became a person who suppressed himself. He covers a wide area, Langli said.

[ Ødegaard nominert til rundens spiller i mesterligaen ]

Norwegian championship record

On Thursday, he was nominated for Champions League player of the year, and earlier this fall he was on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or. He shared the honor with national team teammate Erling Braut Haaland, whom he thanked for diverting much of the attention from his own achievements on the football pitch.

– In this case, it is nice that he is there, who takes part of the attention, writing and everything else. I should probably say a little thank you to him for that, said Ødegaard and grinned when faced with whether he was now truly one of the world’s best players.

– Hehe, he can report that, then I can focus on what I have to do, answered Ødegaard.

Dramamenser is not the only Norwegian to win this round. Nine Norwegians were involved, and it was a record without a Norwegian team taking part in the Champions League. Both Oscar Bobb and Odin Thiago Holm made their debuts, although the latter did not last long when he was sent off after ten minutes on the pitch in Celtic’s loss to Feyenoord.

Otherwise, Fredrik Aursnes plays for Benfica, Leo Østigård comes on as a substitute for Napoli, while Julian Ryerson plays for Dortmund and of course Erling Braut Haaland for Manchester City. In Turkey, “Moi” Elyounoussi scored while Birger Meling provided an assist as FC Copenhagen drew 2-2 against Galatasaray.

[ Bobb-debut da City vendte til seier tross sjansesløseri fra Haaland ]

[ «Moi» og Meling sentrale da FCK mistet seieren borte mot Galatasaray ]