“He shows us how to win” - William Saliba insists Arsenal are ‘lucky’ to have 25-year-old star in their squad

William Saliba has lavished praise on his Arsenal teammate Martin Odegaard, claiming that the Gunners are lucky to have the Norway international in their squad. The creative midfielder ran the show in the north Londoners' first league match of the season against Wolves which ended in a 2-0 win for the Gunners, albeit without producing a goal contribution.

He was pivotal to Mikel Arteta's team's performances in the 2023/24 season, racking up 11 goals and assists each in 48 appearances across competitions. The French centre-back Saliba knows his captain well now, having spent two seasons with him at the Emirates.

Together, the pair have shared the pitch on 76 occasions across competitions for the Gunners but are yet to register a joint goal contribution. Speaking about Odegaard to Beanyman Sports at the PFA Awards, Saliba said (via The Boot Room):

"We're lucky to have him. He's a great leader, a great player. He shows us how to win, he shows us a lot of things.

"When your captain plays like this, all the team can follow. So, we are lucky to have him and I hope he has a great season again."

Odegaard signed permanently for Arsenal in the summer of 2021 from Real Madrid for a reported fee of £30 million after completing a six-month loan spell at the Emirates. To date, he's played 154 matches across competitions for the Gunners, bagging 35 goals and 25 assists.

Expect the 25-year-old to start in the attacking midfield role for his cub in their next league tie against Aston Villa on Saturday (August 24).

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Martin Odegaard didn't celebrate Kai Havertz and Arsenal's first goal of new Premier League season

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard seemingly did not celebrate Kai Havertz's opening goal in his team's 2-0 win against Wolves on Saturday (August 17). Rather, the Norwegian headed straight over to Mikel Arteta to receive instructions on what needed to be done further in the game.

The footage of the same was posted by Arsenal's official YouTube channel as part of their Bench Cam series. During the game, it was the Germany international who opened the scoring in the 25th minute, heading home a beautiful inswinging delivery from Bukayo Saka.

After Wolves managed to enjoy a good spell of their own in the second half, the Gunners shut the game down with about 15 minutes left to play. Bukayo Saka found the near post from the right side of the box to make sure of the points.