Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park to keep the pressure on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
City has a small lead and still has a game in hand, but the Gunners are not giving up on their quest for their first league title in 19 years.
Newcastle’s second home loss of the season makes it harder for the Magpies to get into the Champions League next season, even though they still have a three-point lead over fifth-placed Liverpool.
A month ago, Arsenal had an eight-point lead at the top of the table, but they had only won one of their last five league games. This meant that they had lost control of the title.
Mikel Arteta’s team, on the other hand, showed how much they have grown in the past year, since their loss at St. James’ Park last year cost them a spot in the top four.
“It is a big step for a young team like ours to come here and do the things we did. It shows we have come a long way,” said Odegaard.
“Last year here was one of the toughest days of my career, to be honest. After dropping points against Man City, to win against Chelsea and then come here and win shows the mentality.
“We have to keep going and digging in and fight until the end. It is football, anything can happen and we need to be ready.”
After only three minutes, Jacob Murphy hit the inside of the post with a shot. Then, after Bruno Guimaraes’ shot hit Jakub Kiwior’s arm, the home team thought they should get a penalty.
But when the VAR looked at the play, it looked like the ball hit the Polish defender’s thigh first.
After getting lucky, Arsenal made the most of it by scoring with their first shot on goal. On 14 minutes, Odegaard took aim from far away and shot the ball low past Nick Pope’s left hand.
Pope then had to make a number of big saves to keep the game exciting for Newcastle before halftime.
Three times, when Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, or Odegaard had a one-on-one with the England goalie, he stood tall and stopped them.
After the break, neither team slowed down, and in the first six minutes of the second half, both teams hit the post.
Alexander Isak’s header hit the post, and Fabian Schar made a great save from Aaron Ramsdale to keep Arsenal in the lead.
At the other end, Martinelli finally beat Pope, but the ball went off the crossbar and back into play.
Both teams got angry as the game went on, but Martinelli scored the second and most important goal with another brilliant move.
The Brazilian ran halfway across the pitch and then sent in a low cross that Schar could only turn into his own net.
Arsenal still needs help from City in the last few games to reach their goal, but Newcastle can still finish in the top four.
The team led by Eddie Howe probably only needs six points from their last four games to make the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
But if Manchester United beats West Ham later on Sunday, they could drop to fourth.
“We have four games remaining and need three results,” said Howe. “Liverpool and other teams are coming. They are top level.
“We can only do what we can do and I believe in the character of the team to get it over the line.”
