Foto: Paul Childs / Reuters
Foto: Nick Potts / Pa Photos
Foto: Paul Childs / Reuters
Foto: Paul Childs / Reuters
Photo: VINCENT MIGNOTT / EPA / NTB
Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP
Foto: Paul Childs / Reuters
(Arsenal – Luton 2–0) He directed and scored. Martin Ødegaard sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League.
Thursday 4 April at 00:28
The short version
- Martin Ødegaard scored and helped send Arsenal to the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win against Luton.
- Arsenal are now one point ahead of Liverpool in the table.
- Ødegaard scored his seventh goal in the Premier League this season.
- Luton are in the relegation zone and have not won in 11 games.
- Arsenal will play Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday and Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Sea view
The Norwegian is praised by the Arsenal manager.
– Martin is crucial to making everything work, your Mikel Arteta.
– He has taken great strides. It depends on his presence, the way he conducts himself in front of the group and the outstanding standard he sets. He has many players who help him and the rest will follow, the Spaniard continues.
The London club are one point ahead of Liverpool, who can regain the lead with a win over Sheffield United on Thursday. Manchester City trail just one point behind Arsenal after Phil Foden’s show on Wednesday.
– Arsenal have not won the league for 20 years, but can smell the Premier League title, says Viaplay commentator Kasper Wikestad.
– We scored two very good goals, says Arteta according to the BBC.
Because midway through the 1st round, it exploded at the Emirates.
- 1–0: Ødegaard played a triangle with Kai Havertz inside the Luton box. After a touch, the Norwegian left-footed the ball into the net behind Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminiski.
Drammensen’s seventh goal in the Premier League this season.
The full hit came in handy. Arsenal made five changes from their top-flight clash against Manchester City last Sunday. All relationships did not sit.
But the Ødegaard score solved a lot.
Just over ten minutes later, he set up Emile Smith-Rowe with a classy two-footed pull. But that finish saved Kaminski.
- 2–0: Smith-Rowe again involved. Get loose on the left side. Luton’s Daiki Hashioka failed to control the cross in a close duel with Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson. Thus an own goal.
Thus Arsenal, with Bukayo Saka on the injury list and Declan Rice on the bench, could go into the break with a safe lead.
– Those who came in did very well, says Mikel Arteta, who thought it was important to rotate the team. Both to give more players the chance, and to give some of the regular players a breather before the start of the season.
Luton are in the relegation zone without a win in their last 11 games. They gave Arsenal a wonderful fight in the 4–3 loss in December.
But had to bring out something very special to be able to turn this around. It didn’t happen. For the first time in 19 Premier League games, the relegation-threatened London club did not score.
After the break, clearly less happened. Declan Rice came on midway through the half. Luton substitute Tahith Chong impressed but the battle for the points was dead.
Luton have not beaten Arsenal away from home since 1959.
Arsenal will already be in a new Premier League match on Saturday. Away towards Brighton. Next Tuesday, Bayern Munich will be the opponent in the first of two quarter-finals in the Champions League.