Martin Odegaard explains why he took Arsenal penalty that left Mikel Arteta 'surprised' during Crystal Palace win 

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has explained why he took the penalty in the Gunners' clash at Crystal Palace instead of Bukayo Saka on Monday, August 21. The north London outfit secured a 1-0 victory over Palace at Selhurst Park thanks to the Norwegian midfielder's 53rd-minute winner.

Saka is Arsenal's main penalty-taker and he was on the pitch when the Gunners were awarded the spot-kick after Eddie Nketiah was fouled in the box. However, the England international gave way for Odegaard to take the penalty, which he converted. This left fans, as well as manager Mikel Arteta, surprised.

Odegaard has now offered some clarity as to why he took the penalty over his teammate. The Norwegian explained that his conversion rate during the pre-season helped him convince Saka to let him bear the responsibility.

Odegaard said after the match (as quoted by talkSPORT):

"We've been taking [penalties] in pre-season a lot and I've scored all mine. So I just asked him, and he gave it to me so I have to thank him for that one."

Saka became Arteta's main man when it comes to penalties during the 2021-22 campaign. The Englishman has converted four out of five spot-kicks for Arsenal in the English top tier since then, missing against West Ham United last term.

Odegaard, on the other hand, scored his first penalty against Crystal Palace since his last spot-kick in 2019 for former outfit Vitesse Arnhem.

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"I have no clue, to be fair!" - Mikel Arteta's reaction to Martin Odegaard taking Arsenal's penalty instead of Bukayo Saka

While some that questioned why Saka did not take the penalty may have attributed it to the manager's decision, Arteta has stated otherwise. The Arsenal boss admitted after the game that he himself was not aware of the decision to change the penalty-taker.

The former Everton midfielder, however, did not seem to disapprove of his players' actions. When asked about the spot-kick, Arteta smiled and said (as quoted by talkSPORT):

"I have no clue, to be fair! It's about leadership of players, and if they felt it was the right thing to do, for me, I'm fine. They have to make those decisions on the pitch. I was surprised like everybody else."

He concluded:

"He scored which was the important thing, and we won the game."

Arsenal have kickstarted the 2023-24 campaign in emphatic fashion, securing victories in their first two Premier League encounters. The Gunners find themselves third in the league standings, tied on points with second-placed Manchester City and league-leaders Brighton & Hove Albion.