Pundit praises two ‘special’ Arsenal players after Nottingham Forest clash

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ESPN pundit Shaka Hislop has heaped praise on Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard after their performances for Arsenal yesterday.

Arsenal picked up a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday thanks to a brilliant first-half display. 

The Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead before half-time as Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka both got on the scoresheet.

But Mikel Arteta endured a nervy end to yesterday’s clash at the Emirates Stadium after Taiwo Awoniyi grabbed one back for Forest with just eight minutes of the game remaining.

Arsenal survived the late scare but will be looking to improve on their display if they wish to push for the title once again this season.

And despite an unconvincing performance in North London, Shaka Hislop was impressed with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. 

Hislop on Odegaard and Rice

Speaking to ESPN FC, Hislop expressed concerns about Thomas Partey playing as an inverted full-back. 

But the pundit admitted that Odegaard and Rice looked the part for the Gunners yesterday.

“It looked really easy in the first 45 (minutes), they were in total control of the game,” Hislop said.

“The only question marks for me were Arteta using Partey as a kind of hybrid right-back come midfielder, which I didn’t really fully understand.

“But it worked wonderfully well in the first 45. I would say Odegaard and Rice look something special in the middle of the park.” 

There’s no doubt that Rice and Odegaard linked up well yesterday and the duo are expected to form a formidable partnership in midfield for Arsenal. 

Of course, there are some early concerns over Kai Havertz’s suitability to Arteta’s system. But it’s still early days for the German international.

Arsenal have bolstered their squad significantly over the summer and all three of their signings started from the off yesterday.

Understandably, it’s going to take a bit of time for the trio to settle in and adjust to Arsenal’s system. But Arteta will be delighted to get off the mark with a win yesterday, despite an underwhelming second-half display.