Odegaard nets brace as Arsenal beat Wolves to cement top spot

There was a party atmosphere in the away end following Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Brentford earlier in the day, which meant the Gunners would top the table at Christmas regardless of the outcome at the Molineux.

But Mikel Arteta’s starting XI did not feed off that energy during a first half that lacked clear-cut chances for either side. The substitution of Granit Xhaka (30) within the first 15 minutes through injury certainly didn’t help the visitors, but just like their opponents, they failed to register a single shot on target before the interval.

Gabriel Jesus (25) did have the ball in the back of the net early on, but he was in an offside position when doing so, while the Brazil international later hit the crossbar. The former Man City striker has been a crucial part of Arsenal’s rich vein of form, but he appeared to have lost his scoring boots, and the personal blank meant this was his 11th consecutive match without scoring.

Despite the tepid opening period, Arsenal found themselves in front shortly after the restart.

Fábio Vieira's (22) clever chip found Martin Ødegaard (23) inside the six-yard box and, with José Sá (29) taken out of the game by the summer signing’s pass, the Norwegian was able to tap into an empty net. The strike kept up the London outfit’s record of being the only side in the division to score in every league game this term, and they have now found the back of the net in each of their last 30 meetings against their opponents.

Ødegaard then buried a shot into the corner to double his side’s advantage and wrap up the victory.

Wolves newly-appointed manager Julen Lopetegui, who will officially take over from interim boss Steve Davis on Monday, was in the stands. While he will have been impressed with his side’s spirit, the absence of attacking impetus will have no doubt worried him. The Midlands side forced Aaron Ramsdale (24) into just two saves throughout, and have scored on only eight occasions this season – the lowest in the top flight.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal)