MIKEL ARTETA has got Arsenal’s attack firing – and all it needed was a little love.
The Gunners continued their perfect start to the season on Sunday by beating Chelsea with a performance full of swagger and style.
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Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard were at the heart of it, with both of them scoring to cancel out Morgan Rogers’ opener.
When the pair are in that kind of mood, there is little anyone can do and Arteta is reaping the rewards from their blossoming bromance.
Arsenal have scored nine goals so far this season, with Havertz and Odegaard responsible for six of them.
The pair are very close off the pitch, and that clearly impacts how they perform on it.
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There is an understanding of each other’s games, which was summed up by Arsenal’s winner on Sunday.
Havertz’s delightful dummy fooled everyone except Odegaard, who did not need to break stride before collecting Christos Tzolis’ cross and scoring.
The Arsenal captain said: “Kai is a really smart player, he just moves so well and takes a lot of attention from the defenders.”
It was an unselfish moment like that which sowed the first seeds of Havertz and Odegaard’s tight bond.
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After joining the Gunners from Chelsea for £65million three years ago, Havertz had a tough start and failed to score in his first nine games.
The drought ended at Bournemouth when Odegaard won a penalty and gave the ball to his new team-mate so he could get off the mark.
It was a turning point for Havertz, not least because after he scored the Arsenal fans sang his name to the tune of Shakira’s “Waka Waka” hit for the first time.
The German is a shy character and Odegaard helped bring him out of his shell across the following months.
They ended up going on holiday together at the end of that season, and a year later Havertz was a groomsman at Odegaard’s wedding.
Now both fathers, their wives get on well, too, and they all like to spend time together walking their dogs.
When Odegaard did a documentary last season on leadership, Havertz swiftly agreed to be a part of it and opened up on how much the Arsenal captain supports him.
The striker said: “What do I like about Martin? Obviously, we don’t need to speak about football abilities, but just him as a human.
“I remember when I joined the club, it’s always tough for new players to come in. I am very shy and he messaged me straight away.
“From that moment, I just knew that he’s going to help me out. He always has an open ear about everything.”
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Havertz and Odegaard spent more time together off the pitch last season than they would have liked.
The pair both had injury-hit campaigns and on only three occasions were they named in the same starting line-up for a Premier League game.
They have already matched that tally this term, so it is little wonder that Arsenal’s forward line is purring once more.
Arteta will, however, be aware of the need to keep both Havertz and Odegaard fit, which makes Wednesday’s trip to Napoli so intriguing.
Arsenal want to get their Champions League campaign off to a good start after their heartbreaking loss on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s final.
But lurking on the horizon is a tough trip to Sunderland on Saturday night, plus two more away games next week.
It’s why Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres could come into the forward line, but Arteta will be loath to drop Havertz and Odegaard.
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The pair are in the groove right now, which means Arsenal’s attack is too.
Havertz said: “Martin is an unbelievable player, we saw that over the last few years. He’s back to his best and is going to help us a lot this season.”
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