‘Title race on’ – how Odegaard & Saka are keeping Arsenal hopes alive

Shearer and Sutton. Rooney and Ronaldo. Vardy and Mahrez. Drogba and Lampard. Silva and Aguero.

Many Premier League champions feature double acts – essential attacking supply lines which feed the title charge.

If Arsenal are to challenge for the title this season, it will be down to their own deadly duo – Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.

Saturday’s 5-2 win at West Ham, during which Arsenal were irresistible for a 25-minute spell in a manic first half, showed what they are capable of when both men are on song.

Most telling was when Saka and Odegaard combined to set up the killer second goal, shortly after West Ham thought they had equalised only for Crysencio Summerville’s chipped finish to be chalked off for offside.

Odegaard’s chipped through ball for Saka was delightful, as was the Englishman’s square pass to Leandro Trossard who tapped home.

Their on-pitch relationship is so good they can even share penalty duties. With both Saka and Odegaard netting from the spot, Arsenal scored two first-half penalties for the first time in a Premier League match.

“He asked me for the ball – he wanted to score,” Saka told BBC Match of the Day about Odegaard taking the first penalty. “He gives me a lot of balls so it is nice to return that to him.”

Saka and Odegaard are the key for Arsenal – if both are fit they have a chance of hunting Liverpool down. The awful showing at Bournemouth, when both were absent with injury, illustrated how Arsenal struggle without them.

That game was the nadir of a seven Premier League match spell where Odegaard was absent with an ankle sprain. In the three league games since his return, Arsenal’s captain has contributed a goal or assist in every single one.

“I just wonder, has Martin Odegaard been as big a miss to Arsenal as Rodri to Manchester City?” asked Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Arsenal are growing on me. With Martin Odegaard back, they are a different team.”

Arsenal have not lost a Premier League game Odegaard has played in since April – but it is notable from some key stats that while Saka has played double the minutes of Odegaard, he has much more than double the Norwegian’s number in several key metrics.

Odegaard, in 499 Premier League minutes this season, has scored one goal, provided two assists, had three shots and created a further four chances.

Saka, in 981 league minutes, has scored five goals, provided 10 assists, taken 40 shots and created another 36 chances for team-mates.

Based on these stats one might claim Saka, somehow, remains underrated. But the stats reflect the Arsenal pipeline.

Odegaard feeds Saka, Saka feeds the team – and Saka gets the glamourous stats.

That was encapsulated at London Stadium. Saka created four chances to Odegaard’s one, and had nine touches in the West Ham box.

Odegaard’s only touch in the home area was the penalty he scored.

“Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard linked up beautifully at times and they looked like the side we’ve seen over the last couple of years,” Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“It just shows everybody what Odegaard does for this team – he knits it together. He is the glue in the team. He is an absolute joy to watch and you see how much better they are with him.

“He frees Saka up and gives him that time in one-on-one situations that you can’t really have unless Odegaard is playing.”

That is not to say Saka is reliant on Odegaard in order to create. The winger, far from looking exhausted after a punishing 2024 which included his crucial role in England’s European Championship campaign, is in the form of his life.

Saka, whose penalty to make it 5-2 was his first away league goal of the season, has now been directly involved in 15 Premier League goals in 2024-25 – second only to the 16 by Mohamed Salah.

You could even claim Saka has 16 goal involvements if you include him being fouled for the first Arsenal penalty against West Ham. It counts as an assist on Fantasy Football, after all.

“Incredible,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told his post-match media conference of Saka’s attacking numbers. “This is the hardest thing to do in football – to impact the scoreline in that way.”

Of those 15 official involvements, 10 have been Saka assists. Only Harry Kane, Cesc Fabregas and Mesut Ozil have reached double figures for assists in fewer games into a team’s Premier League campaign.

Saka has added a tough edge to his game, too.

He was booked in the first half after a clash with West Ham left-back Emerson, and later squared up to centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, who is significantly taller.

Ultimately, Saka and Odegaard’s symbiosis on Saturday extended to the very end of their time on the pitch. They were subbed together in the 74th minute, job done.

“Today was a top performance from us and we scored a lot of goals,” Saka told BBC Match of the Day. “We are playing good football right now and we want to continue like this.

“We are back to our best form – we look fluid and dynamic. We are all enjoying football right now.”

Liverpool have been near perfect so far in the Premier League, so Arsenal have to wait and hope for a dip – then strike if it comes.

As Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “With Arsenal now it looks like they’re hitting form. Good for them – title race on.”

If that is to manifest, it will be the dynamic duo of Saka and Odegaard who make it happen.