No limit to where Saka can go, insists Arsenal skipper Odegaard
BOOM: Bukayo Saka will only get better, says Martin Odegaard. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.
NEW SEASON, same old Arsenal. Nine of this starting line-up were the same who played Everton at the end of last season as they completed a run of 16 wins from 18 matches only to be pipped to the Premier League title by two points.
There was no letting up against Wolves. Man City may be going for five-in-a-row this season and there will be more transfer activity at Arsenal this month to try to close the gap but this solid win over Gary O’Neil’s gnarly Wolves confirmed Mikel Arteta’s conviction he already has a squad of potential Premier League winners. As he said afterwards, the key is whether they can show the same aptitude and desire every week.
What Arteta can rely on, however, is the upgrade in levels from some of his already proven performers, who are visibly improving with age. Captain Martin Odegaard, 25, pulls the strings like few others and is fresh after Norway’s failure to qualify for this summer’s European Championship.
Fears of early burn out for those Arsenal players who did represent their country in Germany seem misplaced on the evidence of this match. Germany’s Kai Havertz, only 25 too, was energetic from the first to final minute and scored a proper poacher’s goal with a 25th minute header from a Bukayo Saka cross.
England winger Saka, a seasoned 22-year-old, was a finalist in Berlin only four or so weeks ago. He took a Havertz pass to create time and space to score a stunning 74th minute second.
And it is west Londoner Saka, liked to Lionel Messi by his manager for the way he is unstoppable despite defenders knowing what he is going to do, who Odegaard reckons represents Arsenal’s limitless potential this season.
He started by praising how committed Saka and fellow Euro stars such as Havertz, Declan Rice, William Saliba and David Raya along with Copa America competitors Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli have been since their international duties ended.
He explained: “As soon as we finished the last game everyone said we just wanted to come back even stronger. We have done that in pre-season, the ones who came early, the ones who came later, I think it is just the level we are at, how connected we are, and how aligned we are. We all want the same thing, so it was easy.
“It is so tough, a lot of games, so just shows how professional they are and the level we are on now.”
He then gave an insight into Saka and added: “I think he will just get better and better. Every day in training he is working so hard, working on the small details to get better, and I’m sure he is just going to improve and improve, and I can’t wait to see where it takes him.
"I think there is no limit for this guy, he is unbelievable. The quality he has professionally, how much he loves the game, and how much he puts into the game every day, the sky is the limit, and I am just happy to have him on my team. We want to help him to improve all the time and push him.”
Odegaard proceeded to discuss how Arteta is constantly trying to make gains in the smallest of margins to ensure they win matches when not even at their best level.
It took his compatriot Strand Larsen to offer evidence of the brilliance of Arsenal keeper David Raya, denying the Wolves striker a debut equaliser before Arsenal closed it out.
The striker looked lively in his first start on loan from Celta Vigo (with a €30m permanent transfer tied in) and rightly thought he had scored with a header.
He said: “Sometimes as a striker you have it in your mind, this one’s in, this one you’ve hit well, but it goes so quick so you can’t really see the ball when you touch it, you're like spinning around four or five times. When I hit it, it should have gone in, but shows the quality of Raya. That's a shame for me and for us.”
: Raya 8; White 7, Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 7 (Timber 69), Odegaard 7, Partey 7, Rice 6 (Jesus 85), Saka 8 (Trossard 80), Havertz 7, Martinelli 7.
: Ramsdale, Nketiah, Jorginho, Nelson, Calafiori, Nwaneri.
: Sa 7; Doherty 6, Toti 6, Mosquera 6, Ait-Nouri 6 (Dawson 84), J Gomes 6 (Sarabia 84), Lemina 7, Bellegarde 6 (Cunha 57), R Gomes 6 (Podence 74), Hwang 7, Larsen 6 (Chiquinho 84). : Bentley, Bueno Doyle, Guedes.
: J. Gillett 5 Att: 60,021.
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