Yesterday at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal and Chelsea battled to a 1-1 Premier League draw.
The Gunners’ disappointing performance on the road resulted in their fourth consecutive league loss.The team under Mikel Arteta’s leadership was fortunate to escape the first half unscathed.
Pedro Neto set up Malo Gusto with a beautiful cross, but the Brazilian messed up his close-range shot.
Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal in the 60th minute to break the tie.
Until Neto scored from long range to tie the game, they appeared to be heading for a sluggish victory.
The Portugal national team was able to score a goal because their opponent lacked focus in the middle of the field.
Even though they had more scoring opportunities in the latter minutes, Arsenal were unable to secure the victory.
Despite the deadlock, we can take heart from a few promising developments that occurred over the international break.
After suffering a ligament damage in his ankle in late August, Martin Odegaard finally got the start for Arsenal.
Prior to the derby, the player who cost £30 million just had three training sessions under his belt and made a brief appearance at Inter.
Despite this, he played all 90 minutes and proved that the Gunners were wrong to have missed him.
The captain of the club set up four scoring opportunities with a completion percentage of 92%.
He was spot-on with every cross he sent in and set up Martinelli for the equalizer with a magnificent pass.
Odegaard had an outstanding performance overall, winning three duels and recovering four times.
Earlier than planned, Odegaard took the reins. That he managed to stay in the game the entire time was surprising.
Since Odegaard will not be reporting for international duty with Norway, he has a couple of weeks to work on his fitness and get back to match shape.