Arsenal have been patiently waiting for the old Martin Odegaard to finally reappear. Now, just as Christmas approaches, Mikel Arteta may soon get a timely gift.
On occasion, a shimmy one way laced with a sudden acceleration forward had followed a well-weighted pass to skilfully dissect the Everton backline.
It was these moments in the second half which reflected the class Odegaard has when he is on song.
For Arsenal to keep Manchester City at bay throughout the entirety of this campaign, they’ll need their talisman.
Not the Odegaard, as largely seen in the first half, who pondered on the ball far too long as Viktor Gyokeres busted a gut to charge through the channels.
Nor the Odegaard who dropped deep near his own defence, despite having the coverage of Martin Zubimendi in behind.
Martin Odegaard showed signs of returning to his best in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Everton
The Odegaard the Gunners need is the one who set up Zubimendi on 69 minutes, the Spaniard striking the goal frame, and who has been so instrumental for the north London club in previous years.
He had 22 league goal involvements (15 goals, seven assists) and 19 goal involvements (eight goals, 11 assists) in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons respectively.
Since then, he has struggled to hit those heights, registering just 11 league goal involvements (three goals, eight assists) in the previous campaign, which is far from the standards his talent demands.
Injuries, of course, have been a factor — the Norwegian has already missed 11 matches this season because of injuries to his shoulder and knee.
Though you only have to look at Man City to see why the likes of the 27-year-old playmaker are needed at their best levels.
Premier League titles are won over the distance — the Gunners, who last lifted the title in 2004, are top at Christmas for the third time in four years, for instance.
December has been a month Arteta has previously failed to navigate well enough, as seen by dropping points against Fulham, West Ham and Villa in December 2023, while drawing against Fulham and Everton in that month in the following year.
Having lost to Villa and luckily scraped past Wolves in recent weeks, the signal of a recurring theme was nearby — but that has been shunted down the road via Gyokeres’ penalty to seal three points against Everton.
Odegaard has struggled so far this season but he knitted play together well at Everton
It was made even more sweeter for Arsenal having seen Man City beat West Ham earlier on Saturday to, initially, go top of the table.
The north London club will have felt further pressure in Merseyside from this and, in terms of psyche, Man City would have smelled blood if a wobble so early in the season was detected.
Not because the campaign is anyway near its conclusion, but because of the mental scars Pep Guardiola’s team have inflicted on them in recent years.
It is players like Odegaard who can be the antidote to this, and bring more to the table than just playing ability.
Firstly, there was his act of selflessness, gifting Gyokeres the penalty in a similar manner as to what he did for Kai Havertz back in September 2023.
The German was on a 20-match goalless streak when Odegaard handed him a spot-kick against Bournemouth with his side 2-0 up.
Gyokeres is not experiencing that kind of drought — he’s scored seven goals so far this season — but, nevertheless, is under scrutiny after a string of underwhelming performances since returning from a muscle injury against Chelsea on November 30.
The goal will have given him that injection of confidence in a week in which Arteta had fielded multiple questions as to why his £64million man has yet to properly fire.
His decision to give the under-fire Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal’s penalty was a selfless act
Odegaard’s gesture was no surprise, his effect on team bonding is a trait valued by his manager and partly why he is the captain of a team who has many leaders such as Declan Rice and Gabriel.
Arteta said: ‘Yes, I agree with that (it was a kind gesture) and as well the confidence on the player because obviously he (Gyokeres) practices every day and he’s an unbelievable athlete.
‘He put the ball in the back of the net, so I love when players take ownership and decide by themselves what is the best decision. That’s something really positive.’
On a performance front, after a sluggish first half, Odegaard started to up the ante.
He knitted together a few neat passes forward, and grew in confidence as the game went on to glide through the middle with intent.
There were enough signs pointing towards the revival of a man who has previously been a key cog in Arteta’s team.
Arsenal are top of the table, and the December hoodoo is fading — but their captain’s resurgence may yet prove the most important development of all.
