Red-hot Martin Odegaard told he has two unsung heroes to thank after Champions League heroics

Martin Odegaard is rediscovering his best form after an injury‑hit season

Joe Cole believes Martin Odegaard owes plenty to two Arsenal team‑mates - Max Dowman and Ebere Eze as he rediscovers his best form. The Norwegian midfielder struck the winner against Napoli in the Champions League - his fourth goal in five games and Cole argues that the rise of Dowman and the arrival of Eze have pushed Odegaard to raise his levels.

Last season was a struggle for the Arsenal captain, who battled knee and shoulder injuries, limiting him to 36 appearances in all competitions and producing just one goal and seven assists. He featured in only 24 Premier League matches as Arsenal finally lifted the title.

Signs of a revival first appeared on international duty, with Odegaard impressing as Norway reached the World Cup quarter‑finals, losing to England. He carried that momentum into the new campaign, offering a glimpse of his sharpness in the Community Shield win over Manchester City, where he sat Gianluigi Donnarumma down before rolling the ball into an empty net.

That was followed by a goal in the 3-0 victory over Coventry City in the opening game of the season, before he scored the decisive goal as Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates. His latest strike in Naples underlined that, when fully fit, he plays with a level of confidence that drives Arsenal's title defence.

Cole, on punditry duty for TNT Sports, said after the win over Napoli : "Ignore the scoreline. That is a wonderful away performance in the Champions League. The football that Arsenal played was sublime at times.

"Odegaard was brilliant all night. He’s back to his very best. What a start to the season. And from his perspective, he’s probably thinking that the season he had last year – although he got the title – wasn’t his best season.

"He dropped below his standards. He’s now got Max Dowman coming through, [Eberechi] Eze has joined the club, so he’s turned up this season and thought, 'Right, I’m going to take this club by the scruff of the neck.' He looks like the player that we admired from 18 months ago, absolutely brilliant."

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Cole added: "It's a display of a No. 10. He receives the ball, he’s patient. Everything runs through him. He is at the peak of his powers, it's beautiful to watch. Last season he wasn’t there. He's come in with a new verve. You can’t not love watching him play football."

Former Gunners defender Martin Keown was also full of praise for the players, particularly Odegaard, stating: "They were relentless tonight. If you were to ask that Napoli team, 'Talk to me about that game,' they [would say they] got worked.

"Arsenal were physical, tough in the duels. Lots of players were making their first start tonight but they were still razor sharp, hard to beat. It’s all there and Odegaard is the icing on the cake. Getting central and then shooting from distance. I can’t remember the last time he scored from outside the box - I’m told it was last December but it feels like an age ago. He looks like the real deal."

Mikel Arteta was quick to single out Odegaard after the win, praising both his mentality and his growing influence in Arsenal's attacking play. He said: "That's what we need, the players with that mindset to decide the game, and to play with that personality, that an action might not happen, it’s the next one, the next one, and keep insisting, keep taking chances and risks.

"He’s getting into those positions much more in recent games, and now you feel he has this emotional state that he knows that the ball can go in, and he scored an incredible goal tonight. First of all, he needs to be available, and last year he missed so many games through injuries.

"He’s got that edge, and he’s got now different relationships around him as well, and that helps, and now he can start to occupy some very different heights in the team, especially in the attacking phase, and when we get him into those positions, he’s a very dangerous player."

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