Thierry Henry says Martin Odegaard hasn’t been performing to his best standards this season following Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing of RC Lens in the Champions League.
The Arsenal legend was delighted that Martin Odegaard got on the scoresheet because he felt he needed that moment.
Last season, the Arsenal captain scored 15 goals from midfield and supplied eight assists, things have been a little slower this time around with only four Premier League goal involvements from ten matches.
That’s why Thierry Henry is hoping that last night’s goal will be ‘good for him’ because he feels that Martin Odegaard is the ‘heart of the team’, alongside Bukayo Saka, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (29/11/23 at 10:15 pm).
It also needs to be noted that the Norway international did miss a few games before the international break because of a concussion, so that stop-start wouldn’t have helped matters.
Plus, when you set the bar so high, then the expectations rise and that’s what he is facing now.
Either way, Thierry Henry was keen to speak about Martin Odegaard’s situation after Mikel Arteta’s side booked their last-16 ticket last night.
Martin Odegaard’s form for Arsenal
“I am thinking about Odegaard,” said Henry. “We need to have him back on track.
“I am not saying he hasn’t been good. I am saying he hasn’t been to the standard of where he was. I hope the goal tonight for him will be good for him.
“You can see in the celebration. There is a moment of ‘wow, I have been waiting’. I think it’s vital he can be good for us because we do need him. He is the heart of the team, alongside Bukayo Saka.”
Arsenal marching forward
Whilst Arsenal are sitting top of the Premier League table and easing through to the knockout stages in the Champions League, the feeling is that they haven’t hit full throttle yet.
And rightly so.
But it could be argued that the win over RC Lens last night, a fixture in which they lost in France, was one of their best displays so far – Thierry Henry also shared his thoughts on Gabriel Jesus’ performance.
Make no bones about it, Arsenal well and truly thrashed the Ligue 1 side. They had only conceded one goal in their last five matches.
But inside the first half, they completely battered Lens to continue their march towards some silverware this season.
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