EPL: You’ve proven me wrong – Perry Groves tells Arsenal star

Arsenal legend Perry Groves has said that Martin Odegaard has proved him wrong, adding that the midfielder is finally playing his best football under Mikel Arteta in the No.10 role.

Odegaard has endured mixed fortunes at the Emirates since moving from Real Madrid in the summer but has played a key role in Arsenal’s upturn and how Arteta wants his team to play.

The Norwegian has scored four goals and gave three assists in the league this season.

Groves, who spent six years at Arsenal from 1986, told talkSPORT, “I was actually worried about Odegaard at first because you could tell he’s an unbelievably talented boy at first, but he wasn’t dominating games.

“We used to watch [Mesut] Ozil and he used to frustrate at times. We wanted him to go and take the game by the scruff of the neck and be dominant in that No.10 position

“Odegaard is just starting to make that role his own, he’s grabbing goals and assists and with Lacazette it’s giving him that physical presence and a base to play from and he’s got pace from [Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli on both sides with him.”

Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Norwich on Boxing Day saw them consolidate their fourth-placed position in the Premier League table.