West Ham United coach Kevin Nolan has been raving about Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, and while doing so, he has shared his opinion on another Gunners star.
Kevin Nolan worked with Declan Rice at West Ham United. The England international midfielder joined Arsenal from the Hammers in the summer of 2023.
Nolan has praised Rice and has hailed him as a leader, and while doing so, he has also praised Martin Odegaard.
The West Ham coach thinks that Odegaard is a top player and a leader. Nolan made the comments while analysing Arsenal’s chances of progressing to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League at the expense of Bayern Munich.
Kevin Nolan praises Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard
Nolan said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Well, you have got to think that he (Declan Rice) has been to a final with England, semi-finals of the World Cup, final of the European Championships.
“He has won a European cup final with West Ham, which no one gave us any hope for, and he was the leader of that group. He is going to be the one now taking it on, and he will be taking a lot of responsibility in that dressing room.
“Odegaard, who is a top player, you can see he is a leader as well.”
My View: Martin Odegaard will be key to Arsenal’s success this season
In my opinion, Martin Odegaard will be a key player in Arsenal achieving success this season.
The £30 million (Sky Sports) Norway international attacking midfielder is in form now. He is a very classy player who creates chances for his teammates and is involved throughout the game.
Odegaard was brilliant against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, and I think that his importance in the team is going to grow in the coming weeks and months.
Arsenal are aiming to beat Liverpool and Manchester City to the Premier League title this season. Mikel Arteta’s side are also dreaming of winning the UEFA Champions League.
I think that for Arsenal to be successful in those two competitions, Odegaard has to stay on top of his game. The 25-year-old former Real Madrid player has scored nine goals and given eight assists in 36 matches in all competitions this season.
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