Martin Odegaard gets new chant as Arsenal star shows what Mikel Arteta has been missing

For Arsenal supporters it is great to see Martin Odegaard back in the starting XI. Of course, the Gunners skipper was named in Mikel Arteta's starting lineup for the clash with Chelsea before the international break, but the Gunners have certainly missed his quality.

Odegaard had been missing from a Premier League squad since the end of August until he returned in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea. And he oozed quality in a first half dominated by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The Norwegian was back to his best, dictating the play in the midfield, finding pockets of space and playing balls into the front three at will. When he and Bukayo Saka are on song, Arsenal are an almost unstoppable force.

It was Odegaard's initial blocked shot and then deft pass into the path of Saka that sent the England star on the run for his impressive strike that opened the scoring.

The captain's dummy run then took a Forest defender away with him, allowing Thomas Partey the time and space to take Saka's pass and thump a shot into the corner of Matz Sels' net for 2-0 soon after half-time.

football.london reporter Kaya Kaynak described Odegaard's performance as "unreal", showing Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal fans exactly what they had been missing during his injury absence. He makes the Gunners tick and he will be imperative if they are to get back into the Premier League title race.

His importance to the team is not lost on the fans, who had a new chant for him. Sung to the tune of September by Earth, Wind and Fire, Odegaard was well and truly welcomed back by the home faithful, who had not seen him since August.

According to a post on Reddit, the chant goes something like this: “Hey, hey, hey! Ødegaard, dancing ‘round defenders. Ødegaard, no one does it better. Ødegaard, Arsenal’s magic number Eight."

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