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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards agree on 'excellent' Arsenal star

Martin Odegaard put in another impressive performance on Sunday afternoon as Arsenal comfortably beat Leicester City 2-0 in the Premier League.

Thomas Partey's header gave Mikel Arteta's side an early lead, before a contentious penalty decision following Caglar Soyuncu's handball gave Alexander Lacazette the chance to make it 2-0 from the spot.

The Gunners have now won their last five league games as they returned to fourth place in the table.

Even though he didn't register a goal or an assist, Odegaard managed to create six chances as he left his mark on the game.

Now, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards think that he's developing into a fantastic talent after struggling to make it at Real Madrid.

Speaking live on Sky Sports after the game, Hasselbaink said: "Having that pressure as a 16-year-old, it was seen as a big thing moving to Real Madrid, and young players going to Real Madrid playing in the first-team, they do not get the room to make those mistakes.

"You do not get that at Real Madrid. He came to Arsenal last year, but he was put in the team and still was given the chance because they believe in him. And at the beginning of the season, he was not the player that he is now, but again, he was allowed to make mistakes and as a young player, those mistakes help you grow."

Redknapp is of a similar opinion, and the former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool midfielder thinks that Odegaard is now loving his time at Arsenal.

"He has had an interesting career because he broke on the scene at 15/16, made his debut, child star and everyone was talking about him," he said.

"He probably joined Real Madrid a little too early and it didn’t work out for him as [Zinedine] Zidane was not a huge fan of him. He has been out on loan a number of times, and everyone wondered what the next step was going to be for him.

"He ended up on loan at Arsenal and it has just been the perfect situation for him. It took a while for him to bed in but now you can see the ability and confidence he is showing on a weekly basis. He looks like a man who is loving his football now."

Richards also added to the conversation, as he explained why he's such an asset for Arsenal.

"He is an excellent player. What I like about him so much is that he gets into areas that people struggle to make an impact. When you are in tight areas where you have to manipulate the ball, he is so composed and arguably, is in the form of his life in this Arsenal shirt.

"You can’t not play him with the form that he is currently in because he dictates the play."

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