How many players could be out with ankle ligament damage for two months and reappear as if we blinked and missed it?

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka said of Odegaard. “The day he returned, there was a big smile on my face. You can see the chemistry we have. I hope he stays fit for the rest of the season.”

Your team has hit a creative rut that coincided with the absence of your primary playmaker? Get him back and all your problems evaporate. So yes, the semi-frequent leaden-footed attacking, sterile possession and clumsy decision-making that reared its unfamiliar head at Arsenal over the last two months was nothing more than a team unable to cope without Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal’s recent performance against Nottingham Forest highlighted the transformative impact of having both Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka fit and firing. After a challenging period without their captain,

Stunning strikes from Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey and a first Premier League goal for teenager Ethan Nwaneri gave Arsenal a first victory in five league games.