In the big moments, you need your big players to step up and that’s exactly what happened as Arsenal progressed in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
It was a nervy night for Mikel Arteta and his players, who booked their quarter-final ticket after beating Porto on penalties.
Martin Odegaard, not only scored Arsenal’s opening penalty, but he provided everyone the best moment of the two-legged affair.
Jamie Carragher labelled the Arsenal captain’s assist for Leandro Trossard’s goal in the first half as ‘world-class’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (12/03/24 at 11:00 pm).
The touch, the arrogance to shift the ball across as the Porto player was aiming to tackle him, and then having the composure to wait before playing an utterly sublime through ball was just outstanding.
This is Martin Odegaard proving why he was a wonderkid and why Real Madrid were so keen to sign him as a teenager – Porto defender Pepe had his say on the player.
And now Arsenal are benefiting from his magic, not just in the Premier League, but also on Europe’s biggest stage.
Martin Odegaard ‘world-class’
“I mean that from Odegaard, that is world-class when you think about the best players in the world,” said Carragher.
Arsenal proving their worth
Perhaps, the Arsenal side of last season would have crumbled and probably ended up losing that game to Porto.
Led by 41-year-old veteran Pepe, the Portuguese side put up a serious fight and just didn’t let up, at any moment.
But Arsenal kept plugging away and ensured that they did everything to progress to the next round of the Champions League.
Perhaps being drawn against a team where they will be underdogs might help them because you can see them causing an upset.
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