'Wow': Martin Odegaard sends message to Arsenal star who completed 92% passes vs Sunderland
Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening.
The Gunners played out a 2-2 draw against the Black Cats on the road last term, and faced another stern challenge yesterday.
Arsenal should have been a couple of goals up with the chances created in the opening half. Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz missed big scoring opportunities.
Sunderland started brilliantly after the half-time interval and were handed a fortuitous penalty after Ezri Konsa was adjudged to have fouled Dan Ballard.
Replays clearly showed that Ballard made the most of the situation. He grabbed onto Konsa’s shirt and pulled him down rather than the other way around.
David Raya came up with a stupendous save to deny Enzo Le Fee from the penalty spot before Bruno Guimaraes announced himself with a world-class goal.
Raya was called upon to make another vital save before Bukayo Saka converted a late penalty.
Raya was named the man of the match for two game-defining saves, but Guimaraes was equally good and scored a tremendous goal from outside the box.
Shortly after the 2-0 win, Guimaraes took to Instagram to celebrate, he posted: “My first goal for this club, and to celebrate it with a win like this… I couldn’t have asked God for anything more. A special night that I’ll never forget. We keep going, Gooners.”
Several Arsenal stars responded to his post, including captain Odegaard, who commented: ‘Wow’.
Manager Mikel Arteta made a shrewd tactical decision to replace Myles Lewis-Skelly with Guimaraes at the interval. The 28-year-old obviously had a point to prove against Sunderland, who are Newcastle United’s arch-rivals.
The former Magpies man has had a tough start to his Gunners career due to injury concerns, but made a huge impression yesterday with his winning moment. Aside from his goal, Guimaraes completed 92 percent of his passes.
He also won four duels and induced two fouls, while winning 100 percent of his tackles. It was a quality midfield showing from the summer signing, who should make his full club league debut against Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend.
Arsenal face the Seagulls on the road in Saturday’s league game before the international break. Prior to that, the club have a Carabao Cup third-round tie against Ipswich Town away on Tuesday, where Arteta could ring in the changes.
Stats from Sofascore.com
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