Martin Odegaard has answered Mikel Arteta 's calls for him to score more goals following his silky finish against Watford.
The Norwegian has been integral in Arsenal's recent resurgence and once again played a starring role as the Gunners overcame the Hornets 3-2 at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring against Watford, cooly slotting in Bukayo Saka 's fine cut-back after exchanging a neat one-two with the England starlet.
It proved to be the perfect response to the challenge laid down by Arteta prior to the Premier League clash, who urged the in-from playmaker to add more goals to his game.
"He needs to play close to the opponents' box, for sure," Arteta admitted ahead of Sunday.
"He needs to create more goals, he needs to score more goals, he needs to make more runs in behind, he needs to be closer to the strikers to give them support, and he can do that.
"He needs to score more free kicks. He can still contribute more on our set pieces. His defensive work is phenomenal.
"There are areas where he can only get better, and the only way to get better is to agree on them, and then practise."
The challenge clearly paid dividends with Odegaard acting on Arteta's cries to affect the game in more dangerous areas as he netted his fifth goal of the campaign only five minutes into the Watford contest.
The strike was the Norwegian's first since mid-December when he scored in three successive Premier League matches against Manchester United, Everton and Southampton.
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His latest effort set the ball rolling in a win which saw the Gunners strengthen their position in the race for a top four finish and edge ever closer to a return to Champions League football next season.
Despite outlining a number of areas in which Odegaard needs to improve, Arteta was full of praise for the former Real Madrid man, who made his loan move permanent last summer.
"Martin for us is a really important player, that's for sure," he stated.
"He's showing that every single week. He's phenomenal to work with.
"He's developing areas of his game that we discussed, that he agreed, and that we believed could help him impact matches in a much more powerful way.
"His whole mindset, the way he prepares himself, the way he treats people, the way he plays the game, is just exactly what we want from an Arsenal player.
"He is moving in the right way."
After Odegaard opened the scoring early on at Vicarage Road, Cucho Hernandez swiftly hit back with an acrobatic effort for the home side.
Saka, who laid on the first, then struck the Gunners' second, rifling in to the top corner after dispossessing Tom Cleverley and playing a neat one-two with Alexandre Lacazette.
Gabriel Martinelli then made sure all three points were heading the way of Arsenal as he emphatically finished off another slick team move - started by Arteta's quick thinking on the touchline - before Moussa Sissoko struck a late consolation.
The victory moves the Gunners up to fourth, a point ahead of Manchester United, who face Manchester City later on Sunday, with two games in hand.
