"I love this guy" – Saliba hails Odegaard as one of the world's best
Today at 08:31 AM
William Saliba says he's unsurprised by Martin Odegaard's return to top form following his injury, describing the Arsenal captain as one of the three best midfielders in the world.
The captain produced another scintillating performance in his fourth game back from ankle ligament damage, inspiring the Gunners to a confidence-boosting 5-1 victory against Sporting Lisbon.
While the Norway international didn’t register an assist or get on the scoresheet, he still pulled the strings at the Estadio Jose Alvalade registering, according to The Athletic, the most touches (67), most progressive passes (4) and most carries (30). He also won the penalty that Bukayo Saka netted on 65 minutes to kill off any home side hopes of a comeback.
His performance didn’t go unnoticed by Saliba who told Arsenal.com: "I think he's one of the best midfielders in the world and we are so happy to have him back.
“We are better with him so I hope he won't get injured again. Of course, we have to enjoy playing with him. We can see since he's back we are better.
"He's top three [in the world]. I don't want to put too much pressure on him but I think top three. I love this guy.
“He worked hard at the training ground so I'm not surprised that he came back [from injury] like this but of course, it's not easy when you haven't played for four weeks to come back at this level. I'm not in shock, he's a top professional."
Saliba’s praise was echoed by Bukayo Saka – the Arsenal player with whom the Norwegian arguably has the best on-field chemistry.
“He's an unbelievable player,” the England international to TNT Sports.
“The day he returned there was a big smile on my face. You can see the chemistry we have, how much I enjoy playing with him, I'm happy he's back and I hope he stays fit for the rest of the season.”
The challenge for Odegaard and company is to maintain the standards they’ve set in the last two games. With a nine point deficit to make up on Liverpool in the Premier League, there’s no margin for error if Arsenal are to mount a serious title challenge.
"I think we had two or three weeks before the international break when it was really tough, but now, we get back and we play two really good games," acknowledged Saliba.
"But it's not enough, we have to keep going like this and we have a big game on Saturday. But it's good, it's good for the confidence that we won today and let's keep going like this.
"The coach always told us to believe because we are a really good team. We had some bad times, but now better times are coming so we have to stick together and keep going like that."
Arsenal return to action on Saturday evening against West Ham before welcoming former Sporting coach Ruben Amorim to the Emirates on Wednesday in his new guise as manager of Manchester United.
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