Martin Odegaard Stars as Arsenal Keep Pace in Premier League Title Race with Luton Win

Martin Odegaard scored the opening goal on Wednesday evening as Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table with a comfortable 2-0 home win over relegation-threatened Luton Town. 

The Gunners skipper fired into the bottom left corner after Luton midfielder and Arsenal fan Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu was dispossessed by Emile Smith-Rowe, with Odegaard eventually lashing in with aplomb from 15 yards to score his 30th Premier League goal for the club.

The hosts netted a second on the cusp of half time, with Hatters defender Daiki Hashioka inadvertently deflecting into the net after Smith-Rowe pulled back from the byline, helping Arsenal leapfrog Liverpool and reach the Premier League summit, if only for 24 hours. 

Arsenal were without Bukayo Saka after the winger suffered an injury in the 0-0 draw at Manchester City, and Gunners manager Mikel Arteta gave starts to Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson in Saka’s absence. 

Arsenal dominated possession at the Emirates Stadium without posing a serious threat to the Luton goal in the first 20 minutes, but they punished the luckless Hatters on 24 minutes when Mpanzu was robbed of the ball in midfield and Kai Havertz laid off to Odegaard, with the Norwegian cutting across the ball skilfully with a left-foot shot which slammed into the bottom left corner of the net.

Rob Edwards’ Luton side has been decimated by injury in recent weeks, and the Hatters were camped on the edge of their penalty area for much of the first half. Keeper Thomas Kaminski came to the rescue when he saved from Smith-Rowe after Odegaard’s exquisite flick, and Mengi eventually cleared the danger following two courageous blocks. 

Kaminski was called into action once again moments later when he parried a low shot from Havertz, and once again the tigerish Mengi was there to block Nelson’s follow-up attempt. 

Declan Rice was also rested by Arteta, and Thomas Partey – who deputised for the England midfielder – almost found the net towards the end of the first half when Doughty miscontrolled Leandro Trossard’s effort and cleared into the Frenchman and narrowly wide.

Arsenal established a two-goal lead on 44 minutes when Trossard passed to Smith-Rowe who glided to the byline and picked out Nelson. After the ball rolled in, the goal was initially awarded to Nelson inside the stadium, but replays showed Hashioka had unwittingly applied the finishing touch. 

Going into the match, Luton had scored in 18 consecutive league matches, but rarely troubled David Raya’s goal. Barkley curled a tame free-kick towards goal in the final action of the first half, but it was comfortably collected by the Spaniard.

Luton took more attacking risks in the second half as Arsenal allowed the visitors more time on the ball, and Fred Onyedinma showed some promise on his Premier League debut when he danced through the right side of the area before crossing into Raya. 

Minutes later, Doughty surged down the left flank and reached the byline. His overhit, chipped cross eventually rolled out to Hashioka on the edge of the box, but the Japanese defender’s fierce effort was blocked by the impregnable Gabriel.

Kaminski was almost punished for a sloppy clearance in the later stages of the match when substitutes Jorginho and Eddie Nketiah combined, but the Belgian made amends by stooping down to his right and pawing Nketiah’s shot behind for a corner. 

In the final phase of the match, Issa Kabore was cleverly blocked in his attempt to attack Doughty’s left-wing cross. As the ball rolled out of the area, Hashioka crossed back in from the right into the six-yard box where Barkley headed harmlessly over, triggering the referee to blow his full-time whistle. 

The Luton fans had supported their team relentlessly in the final 20 minutes of the game, and players and staff congregated in front of them to show their gratitude after the match. The connection between players and supporters remains strong, but Luton need wins quickly if they are to achieve Premier League survival.