Martin Odegaard on Tuesday fired Arsenal back to the top of the English Premier League as the Norway midfielder’s double inspired a 3-1 win against woeful Chelsea.
Manager Mikel Arteta’s side lost control of the title race after last week’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, but the Gunners signaled their intention to push City all the way to the wire with a much-needed first win in five games.
Odegaard’s brace was followed by a Gabriel Jesus strike as the hosts raced to a three-goal lead before halftime at the Emirates Stadium.
Photo: AFP
Noni Madueke’s second-half goal was no consolation for Chelsea’s wretched performance.
Arsenal are now two points clear of second-placed City, and while manager Pep Guardiola’s men remain favorites to win the title, the north Londoners have at least applied a little pressure on the champions.
“The first 60 minutes, I thought we played really well. That was everything I want to see from our team,” Arteta said. “Speed, quality, movement, two beautiful goals; we connected with our crowd and created an incredible atmosphere.”
“We wanted to earn the right to be top of the league. We are happy to be there,” he said.
After 10 weeks at the top, Arsenal were knocked down to second place by City’s win at Fulham on Sunday.
Three successive draws, including two blown two-goal leads, and the calamitous loss at City have led Arsenal to be written off as title race chokers, but Arteta said this week that the title was still winnable and his players responded to the Spaniard’s rallying cry.
Troubled Chelsea were ideal opponents for Arsenal to get back on track before a tricky trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
The Blues have now lost all six games since Frank Lampard returned as caretaker manager to replace the sacked Graham Potter.
Languishing in 12th place, Chelsea are on a nine-game winless run in all competitions and face the prospect of failing to finish in the top half of the table for the first time since 1995-1996.
“We were too nice to play against in all aspects in the first half. Not good enough,” Lampard said. “It’s tough because you want to win games, but it’s our job, we’ll work on it.”
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