Odegaard explains why he took Arsenal penalty over Saka

The Gunners skipper took over from Saka to score the decisive penalty kick in Monday’s victory over Crystal Palace.

Martin Odegaard has explained that his flawless penalty record over the pre-season convinced him to take the spot-kick against Crystal Palace.

On Monday, Arsenal made it two wins out of two in the new Premier League season. They held on for a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace with 10 men. Odegaard scored the winning goal via a penalty in the 54th minute.

The Arsenal captain had Saka’s blessing to take a spot-kick, even though the winger is the club’s designated penalty-taker.

“We have been taking penalties in pre-season a lot,” Odegaard said after the game.

“I’ve scored all of mine, so I just asked him [Saka]. He gave it [the ball] to me, so I have to thank him for that one.”

Saka did miss a penalty against Barcelona during the pre-season. The England international was on target in Arsenal’s Community Shield win over Manchester City though.

As for Odegaard, the midfielder put spot-kicks away against Manchester United, AS Monaco, and City over the summer.

Nevertheless, Saka’s decision to pass on the penalty-taking duties to Odegaard was a surprise, even for manager Mikel Arteta.

“If they felt it was the right thing to do, for me I’m fine,” Arteta said.

“They have to make those decisions on the pitch. He scored the goal which is the important thing and we won the game.”

A man down for much of the second half, Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace was a testament to the team’s resilience and determination.

They’ll now regroup for Saturday’s home game against Fulham in the Premier League.