ODETO A GENIUS

Gunners skipper is poetry in motion inspiring classic win

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MARTIN ODEGAARD needed just three minutes to wave his magic wand.

One luscious swing of his left boot sent the ball swirling into Nottingham Forest's penalty box, Mikel Merino's header was scrambled off the line by the desperate Nicolas Dominguez and Jurrien Timber stabbed home.

VAR would later rain on Arsenal's parade, ruling the goal out for offside.

But the two weeks' worth of tension that has lingered since the 1-1 draw at Chelsea immediately lifted around the Emirates as the assertive start provided a clear injection of confidence.

The Gunners soon began to go through the gears, Bukayo Saka probed from the right, driving at nervous marker Alex Moreno, while Captain Marvel, Odegaard, was pulling the strings, finding glorious, fractional pockets of space in between the lines.

There was a late decision on Saka's fitness due to a niggling groin issue, but both he and Odegaard - starting his first home match since the 1-1 draw with Brighton in August - played the game at an entirely different speed to their peers at times.