Arsenal vs Olympiacos: 4 talking points after quarter-final progression

Martin Odegaard Impresses When Dani Ceballos Doesn’t

Dani Ceballos is an exceedingly frustrating footballer. He has an uncanny ability of doing a swivel on the ball or a first time flick around the side that makes your toes tingle. Those moments never last long, as within a split second he’s made a foolish decision on the ball or lost his bearings completely that needlessly puts Arsenal under pressure.

For spells of the first half, namely the beginning of it, he was enjoying himself; slotting into his advanced midfield role where the shackles of defending were loosened. One or two moments of flair that were countered with bizarre and sloppy moments in possession.

Given the chance to rectify it after the break, Arteta hooked him – and Mohamed Elneny who was very similar in performance – for Martin Odegaard. What a difference it made.

Within 20 seconds he’d caressed the ball with a calming aura that filtered through into the rest of the team. He carried the ball at the right moments, picked up the dangerous spaces in between the lines and demonstrated maturity in his distribution. None of the erratic thought processes seen in the first half.

Arsenal were still majorly poor in the second half but the attacking phases were significantly improved with the Norwegian’s entrance, and if there was better finishing across the board – from himself, too – he could have had two assists. Night and day between them.

Petition for Ceballos and Odegaard to wear masks of each other upon his return to Madrid. Please.