“Bracing myself for a performance of the century” – Arsenal fans convinced about 23-year-old star delivering ‘masterclass’ after starting against Leicester
Arsenal fans seem to be looking forward to a great performance by Martin Odegaard in their Premier League game against Leicester City today (August 13).
The Norwegian star has been allotted his preferred number 10 role behind forward Gabriel Jesus in the Gunners' line-up for the match. Mikel Arteta has picked an unchanged starting XI from their 2-0 win away to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the 2022-23 season.
Gabriel Martinelli scored a goal in the first half before Marc Guehi's own goal wrapped things up for the visitors on that occasion.
Arsenal's starting XI can be seen below:
Gunners' supporters on Twitter are anticipating an inspired performance from their skipper. Some fans believe the weather is ideal for Odegaard to stamp this authority on the proceedings.
Others seem excited to see the partnership between the attacking midfielder and Jesus. Odegaard is seen as one of the creative forces in the current Arsenal team and the pair have looked good together during pre-season.
Arteta even stated that Odegaard makes Jesus look better in attack following their 6-0 win over Sevilla in the team's final pre-season game (via Sky Sports).
Here are a few tweets from Gunners fans:
@Arsenal I'm bracing myself for a performance of the century from Ødegaard
@Arsenal About to witness sunny day Ødegaard with Jesus in front of him
https://t.co/pdyaMlmZPt
@Arsenal Odegaard redemption
@Arsenal I believe in Sunny Day Odegaard🔥
TEAM NEWS! odegaard’s day twitter.com/arsenal/status…
35 degrees and water breaks at the carpet
i'm ready for this odegaard masterclass
Odegaard cooking up a brace https://t.co/oUqwi1FOKs
Odegaard joined Arsenal on a permanent deal last summer for a fee of around £30 million from Real Madrid. The attacking midfielder had a good season for the Gunners, contributing seven goals and five assists in 40 appearances across all competitions.
Odegaard was officially made club-captain before the start of the new season. His appointment followed the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window and Alexandre Lacazette this summer.
It is worth mentioning that the 23-year-old Norwegian is already the captain of his national team.
How did Arsenal do against Leicester City last time around?
Mikel Arteta's side picked up wins in both their league outings against Leicester City last season. Both games resulted in a 2-0 win for the Gunners.
Their first encounter was back in October 2021 when Arsenal won thanks to goals from Gabriel Magalhaes and Emile Smith Rowe. The reverse fixture was played in March earlier this year. Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette were the goalscorers for the team on that occasion.
Last time out against Leicester...⏪ Last time out against Leicester...
#ARSLEI https://t.co/7AndwFi2ZM
Leicester City were seen as one of the Gunners' rivals for a European spot at the start of the 2021-22 season. The Foxes, however, endured a disappointing campaign and finished eighth in the league.