Ten minutes into the second half, Ødegaard timed the run perfectly between Wolves’ defenders and into the opponent’s five-metre box. Up front, Gabriel Jesus had delivered a lovely stick to Fábio Vieira, who followed up by chipping the ball elegantly past a threatening keeper. The pass found Ødegaard, who from close range gave Arsenal a long-awaited lead. The Norwegian celebrated by running towards the away fans while banging his chest, where the club’s emblem is attached. A quarter of an hour before the end, the Arsenal captain was there again. José Sa had to return a finish from Gabriel Martinelli, but could do little with the shot from Ødegaard. The 23-year-old cleared the ball with one touch, before sweeping it inexorably into the corner. It was his sixth league goal of the season, making him Arsenal’s top scorer. – Martin Ødegaard was absolutely phenomenal. In the second half we got to see him at his best, says Viaplay’s football expert Sigrid Heien Hansen. Ødegaard’s double secured victory for Arsenal, and gave Mikel Arteta’s men a perfect start to the World Cup break. The London club took advantage of Erling Braut Haaland and Manchester City’s misstep against Brentford, and now top the Premier League five points ahead of the light blues. The next series round is not until December 26. WC BREAK: Martin Ødegaard and Arsenal will not play together again until December 26. The Norwegian is one of the team’s players who is not going to Qatar as Norway is not qualified. Photo: OLI SCARFF / AFP Arsenal were big favorites against table jumbo Wolverhampton, but made it difficult for themselves at times. The orange-clad had lost six of the last eight in the league, but initially pulled through. The closest was Gonçalo Guedes, who was played alone through after a gross defensive error from William Saliba. The French national team stopper lost control and played the ball back to his own goalkeeper. It intercepted the Portuguese, but the finish went wide for the goal. The club’s new coach Julen Lopetegui watched the match from the stands, and was hardly impressed by how Guedes took care of the opportunity. There were no more scores for Ødegaard and Arsenal, but they managed to keep a clean sheet for the third game in a row. The club has not won the series since the 2003/04 season, but now parts of the fans have slowly started to dream of something big again. This is the first time since 2007 that Arsenal have topped the table at Christmas, but in the last five times the club have led at Christmas they have failed to win the league. A sliver of joy for Arsenal – and not least Switzerland – was Granit Xhaka’s early exit from the pitch. It is not known whether it was an injury or illness that forced the Swiss to give up already after 15 minutes, but the incident could be bad news for World Cup-ready Switzerland.
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Ødegaard double secured Arsenal victory against Wolverhampton – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
