Martin Odegaard said that it was Bukayo Saka’s preseason performance from the spot that persuaded him to ask him to take the game-winning penalty for Arsenal in last night’s victory over Crystal Palace.
The Gunners needed to work hard to keep their perfect start to the new Premier League campaign, and they ultimately owed their victory to their captain’s accuracy from 12 yards.
Having been fouled by Palace goalkeeper Eddie Nketiah in the 53rd minute, Odegaard converted the penalty, sending Sam Johnstone the wrong way.
Saka converted all of Arsenal’s Premier League penalty kicks last season, but he is well-known for missing one during the costly 2-2 draw at West Ham, which led to his team’s collapse in the final stretch.
The England international also missed a chance to score against Barcelona in a preseason friendly last month. Odegaard also missed a chance to score against Manchester City in the Community Shield, but after a string of his own successful conversions against teams like Manchester United, Monaco, and City, he decided to pull back at Selhurst Park.
The Arsenal captain responded when asked why he agreed to take on the duty, “We have been taking in pre-season a lot and I have scored all of mine so I just asked him (Saka) and he gave it to me, so I have to thank him for that one.”.
Meanwhile, manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that he was taken aback by Saka’s decision to delegate the responsibility of taking penalties to Odegaard.”I have no idea. It’s about player leadership, and if they felt it was the right thing to do, I’m fine for me.”.
Those choices must be made by them while playing.
Along with everyone else, I was taken aback, but he scored the crucial goal, and we went on to win the match. ‘.
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