Martin Odegaard creates Arsenal history after providing match-winning assist in Gunners' 1-0 win over Chelsea
Arsenal star Martin Odegaard whipped up another assist against their London rivals Chelsea as they won 1-0 on Sunday. Mikel Merino scored in the 20th minute which proved enough to secure all three points in a crunch Premier League encounter at the Emirates. Standing over a corner kick, Odegaard picked out Merino with a clinical effort, and the latter headed it in to break the deadlock.
The Norwegian has been having a fine season with the Gunners and that marked his eighth assist of the campaign in all competitions. More interestingly, that was his fifth against Chelsea alone, the most he's managed against one side in the league.
It's also the most an Arsenal player has managed against the Blues, surpassing the previous record held by Cesc Fabregas and Dennis Bergkamp (four each). What's more incredible is that he managed all this in just eight games against the Stamford Bridge outfit.
In terms of Premier League stats, Odegaard is now on fourth on the all-time list of assists provided against Chelsea. He's tied with Marc Albrighton, Ashley Young and Darren Anderton.
However, the 26-year-old is still some way from the record held by Ryan Giggs. The former Manchester United legend registered nine assists against Chelsea in 31 Premier League games. However, given his incredible run, one will not put it past Odegaard to beat that milestone too.
He has never lost to Chelsea in the league since joining Arsenal from Real Madrid, even netting twice in eight appearances overall.
Arsenal claim big win but still way behind Liverpool
Arsenal may have sealed a big win over Chelsea on Sunday but they remain longway off Liverpool, who are 12 points ahead of them at the top. The Reds have 70 points from 29 games, while the Gunners have 58 with only nine games remaining in the season.
One can expect the race to get heated up in the closing stages given the congested fixture list but that's still a big gap between the top two. Arsenal need Liverpool to slip up big time to have a crack at winning the trophy now.
They could perhaps take solace from the fact that they arguably have an easier run-in, with most of the sides of their upcoming fixtures struggling near the mid-table or below. Interestingly, the north London side and Liverpool meet in a crunch encounter on Matchday 36 at Anfield. However, the Reds could have already sealed the title by then.
