Saturday’s defeat at home by Bournemouth marked a flat and dispiriting afternoon for Arsenal, but there was at least one positive for Mikel Arteta: an improved performance by Martin Odegaard, featuring a stylish assist for Declan Rice.
It was a gorgeous pass, full of disguise and menace, and it served as a timely reminder of the Arsenal captain’s class.
Ahead of the biggest game of his Arsenal career, against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday night, Odegaard was in need of a confidence-boosting moment like this. It has been a relentlessly frustrating campaign for the Norwegian, who has been unable to maintain the remarkable consistency that made him Arsenal’s player of the year in each of the past two seasons.