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‘Baffles me’: Gary Lineker thinks Arsenal have benefited from ‘strange’ £30m transfer decision

Photo by Laurence Griffiths - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Laurence Griffiths - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
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Arsenal FC v Fulham FC - Premier League
Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

Gary Lineker has praised Martin Odegaard after Arsenal came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday evening.

The Gunners were seeking a fourth win from four Premier League games to start the season but were dealt a setback.

Aleksandar Mitrovic robbed Gabriel Magalhaes and finished past Aaron Ramsdale to leave the Emirates Stadium stunned.

Odegaard fired Arsenal level with the aid of a deflection before Gabriel redeemed himself with a late winner for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Gary Lineker has praised Martin Odegaard

Arsenal are the only Premier League team with a 100% winning record right now; even Manchester City have dropped a couple of points.

Some are refusing to buy into the Arsenal hype, pointing out that they have only faced Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Bournemouth and Fulham so far.

You still have to win those games though and Arsenal have done that, with Odegaard shining of late.

The Norwegian scored two first-half goals against Bournemouth before following that up with another goal against Fulham.

Now Arsenal captain, everybody is looking towards Odegaard for a huge season – and he is certainly delivering the goods.

Given the huge prices in the market right now, the £30million Arsenal paid to sign Odegaard from Real Madrid last summer now looks like an incredible bargain.

Tabbed as a wonderkid at Stromsgodset back in Norway, Odegaard joined Real at the age of just 16 and big things were expected of him.

Odegaard didn’t quite break through into Real’s first team, partly because of the star-studded midfield they have been rolling out for years.

Now though, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has remarked that he can’t believe Real let Odegaard ‘slip away’ from them.

Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are 36 and 32 respectively, with emphasis now on Eduardo Camavinga and new signing Aurelien Tchouameni to emerge as their heirs.

Lineker thinks Odegaard could have been the man though, believing that he is ‘so clearly talented’ and believed that Arsenal have really benefited from a baffling decision by Real.

“Do you know what baffles me a little bit, is how have Real Madrid let him slip away when they’ve got Modric and Kroos, who are really at the end of their careers,” said Lineker. “It’s a strange one because he’s so clearly talented, isn’t he?” he added.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths – The FA/The FA via Getty Images