‘Nobody else sees that!’ – Peter Schmeichel hails Martin Odegaard as the Premier League’s best after Arsenal sink Chelsea

Arsenal emerged victorious in a compelling London derby against Chelsea on Sunday. The reigning Premier League champions recovered from an early setback to claim a hard-fought 2-1 win at the Emirates.

Morgan Rogers volleyed the visitors into a shock lead after just two minutes. However, former Chelsea forward Kai Havertz levelled the scoreline midway through the first half by squeezing the ball past Emiliano Martinez. Odegaard then proved to be the match-winner for Mikel Arteta's side. The playmaker kept his composure to fire the hosts into the lead just five minutes after the restart.

Former United goalkeeper Schmeichel was thoroughly impressed by Odegaard's match-winning display. He singled out the Norwegian for ultimate praise following the final whistle.

"My God, how good is he? For me, he was the best player on the pitch," Schmeichel stated on Viaplay. "Of course, we are seeing, we are noticing, what kind of player we like.

"This guy… what he does for this team is just so impressive. He’s technically so good. What he sees, nobody else sees that. Take him out of Arsenal’s team and it’s very, very difficult to see what would happen then. I don’t think there’s a team in the country that has a player of that quality."

Beyond Odegaard's individual brilliance, Schmeichel was quick to highlight Arsenal's exceptional collective work-rate. He noted that Arteta's team often appears to have a numerical advantage on the pitch.

"I’ve seen that thing that no one else has in this league. Every time they lose the ball, it feels like there’s an extra Arsenal player on the pitch," Schmeichel explained.

"We talked about predictions before the game, this is what I’ve seen in the first two games. No other team has that kind of work-rate, organised work-rate, and also the ability to do it.

"It’s one thing organising yourself in doing it, the other thing is having the energy and you could see as the game progressed with the substitutions, you don’t see a difference. It’s the same thing."

With their domestic momentum intact, Arsenal must now prepare for a swift turnaround in European competition. Arteta’s squad will travel to Italy to kick off their Champions League campaign against Serie A giants Napoli on Wednesday night. Following their midweek excursion, Arsenal return to top-flight action with a challenging away trip to Sunderland.