That should give them a ton of confidence going into the game at the Etihad on Sunday, but they will have to be at their best to get something out of the game.
One Arsenal player, in particular, seems to have caught Guardiola’s eye, and he will be key for the Gunners tomorrow.
pep guardiola martin odegaard arsenal
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Pep Guardiola says one Arsenal player is having his best season ever
Arsenal are currently on top of the Premier League table above both Liverpool and Manchester City.
The Gunners are having a fine season, and many of their players deserve immense praise for the way they have performed over the last few months.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are all contenders to win the Player of the Season award at the end of the campaign.
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One other player who has been brilliant recently is club captain Martin Odegaard.
The Norway international, who joined the Gunners for just £30 million from Real Madrid in 2021 (BBC), is one of the best players in the world.
He always makes things happen for Arsenal, and the way he has been leading his side has been incredible as well this season.
Ahead of the big game at the Etihad, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was asked about Odegaard, a player he spent some time with at Bayern Munich when he went there for a trial many years ago.
The Spaniard heaped praise on the midfielder.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “I think he’s playing incredibly well. The best season he has played.
“I think it helped a lot his path to Real Sociedad. There he played a lot, (became) confident and after, he made this step on loan and then buy (was bought) by Arsenal.
“Then after, he became the captain and played regularly, consistently every single day. He has become a really, really important player.”
Comparing Martin Odegaard’s stats in 2023/24 to last season
Pep Guardiola knows football better than all of us, so if he thinks Martin Odegaard is having his best season ever, we believe him.
The Norwegian, however, was amazing for Arsenal last season as well.
In 45 games in all competitions in the 2022/23 campaign, Odegaard scored 15 goals and provided seven assists. He was integral for Arsenal all season.
This time around, Odegaard has nine goals and seven assists to his name in 36 appearances. If he remains fit, he is guaranteed to play at least 12 more games – he might play 15 if Arsenal go all the way in the Champions League.
There is every chance Odegaard will have a better direct-goal-involvements tally by the end of this season than he did in the whole of last campaign.
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