Arsenal move five points clear ahead of World Cup after Odegaard double at Wolves

Martin Odegaard celebrates after scoring for Arsenal against Wolves.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal head into the World Cup with a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after Martin Odegaard's brace handed the Gunners a 2-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.

After a goalless first half at Molineux, Odegaard opened the scoring in the 55th minute and the Norwegian midfielder added a second with a quarter of an hour remaining to wrap up a 12th win in 14 games for Mikel Arteta's side.

Earlier in the day, Manchester City's surprise defeat at home to Brentford meant Arsenal would be top going into the break whatever happened against Wolves, but the Gunners signed off in style with a big lead ahead of Qatar 2022.

Arsenal have won an amazing 37 points out a possible 42 so far, with their only defeat a 3-1 loss at Manchester United in early September. Last month's 1-1 draw at Southampton was the only other time Arteta's side have failed to win in the Premier League this season.

In that impressive run of form, the Gunners have scored 33 goals and conceded 11.

Arteta's side have also beaten Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool, although they have yet to face Manchester City.

After the World Cup, the north London club return to action at home to West Ham on Boxing Day.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.