“So good” – Martin Odegaard hails Arsenal workhorse who’s “always” grafting

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has now hailed one of his Gunners teammates for “always” working hard behind-the-scenes.

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Mikel Arteta’s men have enjoyed a solid start to the new Premier League season and remain unbeaten following their latest triumph – a 1-0 win away to struggling Everton on Sunday.

Leandro Trossard’s strike with just 20 minutes remaining ensures that Arteta and co keep pace with Pep Guardiola’s imperious Man City at the top of the table.

Arsenal have tasted victory in four out of their opening five top flight matches, with Fulham being the only side to get a result against them so far. The north Londoners had to dig deep on Merseyside but yet again displayed real grit to come away with all three points.

Arteta, commenting after Arsenal ended their hoodoo of six years without an away win at Everton, praised his side’s display.

“Six years without a win here is a long time, so we had to learn some lessons, we had to be better.” said Arteta.

“I am delighted for the win but especially the way we won it, the way we played, how dominant we were, the presence that we showed on the pitch. We fully deserved to win the game.

“I think we had many other openings to put the ball in the last line and to put somebody in the box and finalise. Credit to Everton, they defended the box extremely well, and they had some big, big blocks when we opened them up. It’s great to have other ways to score goals, it gives you different resources and be more unpredictable.”

In and around the contest, there were question marks as to why goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was dropped in favour of summer signing David Raya.

The 25-year-old hadn’t set a foot wrong before their trip up north, with Arteta even having to defend his decision to the media.

It appears the contest for Arsenal’s number one spot is now hotting up, but club captain Odegaard has moved to defend Ramsdale.

Indeed, the Norway international insists he is a player of real quality and is “always” working behind-the-scenes.

“I think he will just keep working hard, like he is always doing,” Odegaard said on Ramsdale (via The Standard).

“Today he was there supporting us, cheering for us, helping us. He is a great character and he showed a very good response today by backing the team. It was excellent from him.

“We have two good goalkeepers and big competition. They have different qualities. They are both so good on the ball and in goal as well. So, we are lucky to have two such good goalkeepers and we will see who plays.”

How good is Aaron Ramsdale?

Arsenal signed Ramsdale on a long-term deal from Sheffield United in the summer of 2021, for a fee which could rise to £30m including add-ons.

The Englishman has gone on to make 83 appearances in all competitions, all while performing at a high enough level to earn multiple England caps.

The presence of Raya could motivate him to play even better as he attempts to keep his spot as Arsenal’s go-to shot-stopper.