“He’s been at the heart of so much” - Alan Smith labels ‘spectacular’ Arsenal star as best player in 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United

Pundit Alan Smith heaped praise on Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard following their 6-0 hammering of Sheffield United in the Premier League on March 4.

The Gunners continued their brilliant league form in 2024 as they beat bottom-placed Sheffield United on Monday. Odegaard scored in the fifth minute before Jayden Bogle's own goal made it 2-0 eight minutes later.

Gabriel Martinelli (15'), Kai Havertz (25') and Declan Rice (39') helped give the north London side a 5-0 lead within the first 40 minutes. Ben White then completed the scoring in the 58th minute.

After the game, Alan Smith was asked to name his Player of the Match on Sky Sports. He said that a number of Arsenal players could win the award but reserved special praise for Odegaard, saying (via HITC):

“A few candidates, Saka, Rice, Martinelli, but I’m gonna give it to the skipper. He’s been at the heart of so much, he’s been so smooth, so spectacular at times."

Odegaard scored a goal against Sheffield, completed 84/93 passes, made four key passes and created one big chance. He also completed 3/3 dribble attempts, won 5/10 duels, and attempted four shots.

Odegaard has been a key player for Arsenal this season as well, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in 34 games across competitions.

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Mikel Arteta on Arsenal's 6-0 win over Sheffield United

The Gunners hammered Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday, going up 5-0 within the first 40 minutes. They eventually won 6-0 and continued to put pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League title race. Arsenal are third in the table, two points behind the Reds and one behind City.

After the game, manager Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts on his side's dominant performance and said (via Arsenal.com):

"A great night – it’s a really difficult place to come but the way we started the game obviously made the difference. We were really aggressive, really positive and we showed real quality, especially in the final third to take the game into a position where it was in a big favour for us and then we maintained it.

"We maintained the rhythm, the hunger and I love that about the team."

The Gunners have now won all seven of their Premier League games in 2024 with an aggregate scoreline of 31-3.

They will next face Brentford at home on March 9 before hosting FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg three days later. They trail the Portuguese side 1-0 after the first leg.