William Saliba says one Arsenal star is 'top three' in world football

Arsenal defender William Saliba has hailed Gunners teammate Martin Odegaard as one of the top three players in world football after Tuesday night’s 5-1 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side dismantled the Primeira Liga champions just weeks after the Portuguese side had beaten Manchester City 4-1. It marked back-to-back wins for Arsenal following a tough period before the international break. The Gunners failed to win their final three games before the November internationals but beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 last weekend and followed that up with victory against Sporting.

Odegaard had spent a large period of the season out injured as he sustained an ankle problem on international duty with Norway in September. He came off the bench in a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan and made his first start since the injury against Chelsea earlier this month, as the Gunners drew 1-1 following back-to-back defeats. His creative influence has helped Arsenal find their spark again, and Saliba was keen to sing Odegaard’s praises after their latest victory.

Saliba told the Arsenal club website: “I think he’s one of the best midfielders in the world and we are so happy to have him back. We are better with him so I hope he won’t get injured again. Of course, we have to enjoy playing with him. We can see since he’s back we are better.

“He’s top three [in the world]. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him but I think top three. I love this guy. He worked hard at the training ground so I’m not surprised that he came back [from injury] like this but of course, it’s not easy when you haven’t played for four weeks to come back at this level. I’m not in shock, he’s a top professional.”

Ahead of the game, Arteta admitted Arsenal were not the same team without Odegaard. The Gunners return to Premier League action against West Ham this weekend with title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City going toe-to-toe at Anfield.

"It is different [without Martin Odegaard in the team]," Arteta told TNT Sports. "He is a different player and a unique player in our team. For the energy that he brings, the understanding of the game that he has and the trust that he has from everybody. He is the player that connects everything, that's him.

"His body language, his capacity to link with the ball and the way he drives the press makes him a very important player and that is why he is our captain. Obviously we have certain chemistries in the team that have been built over a period of time. We are building others and I think they are going to be really strong as well. What I was really pleased about is that we played with so much enthusiasm, energy and quality. I saw a different team in that sense."