Forget Odegaard, it was ‘powerful’ Arsenal star who proved everyone wrong vs Newcastle

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Martin Odegaard came off the bench to help inspire a late comeback for Arsenal against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The Arsenal captain has been nursing a shoulder injury of late, explaining why he was only ready for a spot on the bench.

But in typical Martin Odegaard fashion, the Norwegian came on and immediately made a difference – he broke Newcastle’s lines with ease and helped win Arsenal the match.

Of course, Odegaard has been criticised for not being decisive enough in the final third by Arsenal fans over the past year or so.

But when it comes to scrutiny, no one’s performances are analysed more intensely than Viktor Gyokeres’, a striker who’s immediately taken centre stage under Mikel Arteta.

Viktor Gyokeres quietly delivers his best Arsenal performance yet

That being said, Gyokeres faced another tough test in an Arsenal shirt playing as a lone striker against Eddie Howe’s formidable Newcastle back line.

And although he didn’t score or assist the goals to win Arsenal the game, Gyokeres was quietly superb in his work.

The ‘powerful’ Swede scored goals against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest in previous Premier League outings, but this was arguably Gyokeres’ best 90 minutes in an Arsenal shirt. 

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The former Sporting CP striker still needs to get slightly quicker with his finishing – he’s often taking an extra touch when he could just get away a shot.

But in terms of Gyokeres’ unselfish work, his running, his pressing and his hold-up work against Newcastle’s physical defenders, he did superbly.

And Arteta will be pleased that Arsenal are getting results even when Gyokeres isn’t fully firing.

Gyokeres appears to be getting fitter game by game after a disrupted pre-season with Sporting, and there’s no doubt that he’ll soon be popping his famous celebration with increasing regularity.

Eberechi Eze also stars in his preferred role for Arsenal

As mentioned, Odegaard was on the bench initially against Newcastle, and he was joined by Mikel Merino.

That meant that Eberechi Eze finally got a chance centrally in a big game, and the England international certainly didn’t disappoint.

Before the game, Eze spoke about what he had learnt from Arteta since joining Arsenal, and he looked better than ever playing as a number 10.

The former Crystal Palace man was frustrated by Nick Pope’s brilliance on occasion, and he even slipped in Gyokeres very cleverly in the second half.

And in terms of positives for Arteta, there was an abundance.

Arsenal were superb against Newcastle, and they deservedly take three points back to north London, where they’ll be looking to kick-start a title-winning campaign.