'Magical', 'Joke': Rice & Dowman praise 27yo Arsenal star with 9 recoveries vs Man City
Arsenal secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
Riccardo Calafiori put the Gunners ahead after just 24 seconds from a brilliant Myles Lewis-Skelly pass.
Kai Havertz doubled the score in the 28th minute before Martin Odegaard put the gloss on the performance with a third goal, shortly after the interval.
There were many standout performers on the day, but Odegaard was adjudged the man of the match after a terrific all-round display for the London giants.
The Norwegian had a fantastic World Cup with four assists, and carried on the good form against the Cityzens. He curled in a brilliant cross for Christos Tzolis, who provided the assist for Havertz’s goal.
Tzolis and Odegaard again combined for the third. The Greek delivered a fine pass to the Gunners skipper, who sat down goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a dummy shot before slotting into the net.
Aside from his goal contribution, the 27-year-old completed 95 percent of his passes (55/58) and won 100 percent of his dribbles (3/3). He also made nine ball recoveries and won five ground duels on the day.
Odegaard hardly put a foot wrong, and no doubt deserved his man of the match accolade. After the game, the captain took to Instagram to celebrate with the caption: ‘Lovely start to the season’ with a trophy emoji.
Several Arsenal stars responded to his post, including Declan Rice and Max Dowman. Rice replied with ‘magical’ while Dowman described Odegaard’s performance as a ‘joke’.
Here is a screenshot
Odegaard had a difficult 2025/26 season with the Gunners. He picked up a couple of freak shoulder injuries at the start of the campaign before suffering a lengthier knee injury in October.
He continued to struggle with a knee problem during the back end of the campaign, but still made nine goal contributions, including a crucial assist for Leandro Trossard’s winner at West Ham in May.
Odegaard went on to impress for Norway at the World Cup and has carried that momentum over. He was brilliant in the two pre-season friendlies against Borussia Dortmund and Como, creating several chances.
Against Man City, he was unplayable at times with his movement and quicker distribution. The playmaker looks back to his best for the Gunners, having got over his injury concerns from last season.
Stats from Sofascore.com
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