Gary Neville hails Arsenal player as 'best in his position' in the Premier League

Gary Neville has labelled Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard as the 'best in his position' in the Premier League following his dazzling performance in the 5-0 rout of Chelsea.

Neville's remarks come after Odegaard served two assists in the crushing win over the Blues this week, taking his goal contributions for the current season to 20 across all competitions. Only Bukayo Saka has more to his name, and Neville was impressed, claiming that Odegaard's recent performances are noting short of 'mesmerising', reports the Mirror.

The Gunners sit top of the Premier League, three points above Liverpool, and four clear of Manchester City. However, City boast of having two games in hand, positioning them to leapfrog Arsenal if they manage to clinch wins in both.

It means the Gunners cannot afford any slip-ups in their final run of four matches, with Odegaard expected to play a crucial part. Neville, speaking about the victory against Chelsea on his podcast, said: "Very good, excellent in fact.

"They were outstanding in that first 25 minutes against Aston Villa when we were there a couple of weeks ago, some of the football. And Odegaard is mesmerising at the moment, I think he's become the best in that position in terms of the way in which he plays.

"And I was really impressed with Chelsea against Manchester City on Saturday in that FA Cup semi-final, I thought they were really good, lots to hang your hat on there and build on. And then Mauricio Pochettino came out with, he couldn't have said it any better, 'when we're bad, we're really bad', but Arsenal were really good and they won well and they played in a dominant fashion against a really poor and under-strengthened Chelsea team, but they did their job."

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An intense weekend fixture is anticipated as Arsenal prepare to take on arch-rivals Tottenham in the North London derby. Neville has sounded an alarm bell to Mikel Arteta's side not to underestimate Sunday's impending clash, citing Liverpool's shock Merseyside derby defeat at the hands of Everton.

"Arsenal cannot be shocked on Sunday, it's potentially going to be a bloodbath in the first 15, 20 minutes, Tottenham fans don't want Arsenal to win the league," he cautioned. "It's a big game on Sunday and (Liverpool's defeat to Everton) is a big lesson for Arsenal tonight.

"If Arsenal were watching, which I suspect they were, they should look at that game, it's not quite the same Tottenham are a different football team to Everton but the elements of making sure they're ready, they don't get caught out, making sure that away from home you respect the opposition and the crowd and what you could be up against if they get on top of you, the principles of playing away, Arsenal can't forget that just because they're a better football team and they're in a better moment."