Arsenal's Mikel Arteta not surprised by Odegaard impact

Since Martin Odegaard returned to the Arsenal lineup, the team has rattled off three convincing wins, but manager Mikel Arteta isn't surprised one bit.

If you needed any clarification as to how important Martin Odegaard is to the Arsenal set-up, then look no further than how different the team has looked in the last three weeks.

Prior to the international break, the Gunners were a bleak outfit, showing no signs of the attacking flair and ingenuity in the final third we had come to know. That led to Arsenal going winless in four straight games.

But since his return, Arsenal has looked like the title challengers we expect them to be. The Gunners have rattled off three convincing wins over Nottingham Forest, Sporting CP, and West Ham, with Odegaard playing a major role in each win.

As the Gunners look ahead to facing Manchester United in the league, Mikel Arteta says he isn't in the least bit surprised at what his captain has done since returning.

"Honestly, it doesn't surprise me, because the way he looks after himself, the way he was talking, the way he trained, the way he looked a week or two before he already joined the team - it was really sharp," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "And then obviously the team has a huge confidence and trust in him, so that has a big impact as well on how much we rely on him."

In his last three games, Odegaard has grabbed two assists and a goal to be the driving force behind Arsenal's resurgence as the flow, flair, and willingness to try and unlock opposing defenses has returned.

While the Gunners' three-game winning streak has catapulted them to second in the Premier League table, still nine points behind leaders Liverpool, Arsenal now looks capable of reeling in Arne Slot's side.

But now comes a true test of Arsenal's newfound form when it hosts a United side that is unbeaten in its last seven outings in all competitions and is fresh off a 4-0 demolition of Everton, so the Gunners are going to have to play the sort of football we've come to expect under Arteta to slay the Red Devils.

The Gunners have won four of the last five meetings against United, including the last three, so Arteta's side has the wood over their rivals, but under Ruben Amorim, United look a different proposition.

Arsenal needs to keep the momentum going, and with Odegaard center to everything good that happens going forward, the skipper will need to put in another standout performance for the Gunners to continue their winning ways.

And we bet he'll do just that.

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