The Emirates rose to its feet as soon as it became clear Martin Odegaard would be departing. As all sides stood to applaud Arsenal’s best display in weeks, there was recognition too of the wondrous touches and effortless shimmies that had defined a game. Amid the brilliance from Odegaard, Arsenal realised it is the simple things only he can do that they had missed the most. “When he’s in the team, you can sense something that is different,” said Mikel Arteta. “It’s difficult to put a finger on it, but it’s different.”
Nottingham Forest, who had beaten Liverpool and drawn at Chelsea to arrive at the Emirates level on points with Arsenal, looked second-best throughout and were dismissed 3-0. Arsenal were revitalised with their heartbeat restored, winning in the Premier League for the first time in five games. There was further reason to celebrate as Odegaard marked his first home appearance since August with a dazzling display. After a difficult, “nightmare” autumn that threatened to derail Arsenal’s title challenge, Odegaard helped restore the feelgood factor despite the bite of winter in the air.
