Why Martin Odegaard took Arsenal’s penalty against Crystal Palace instead of Bukayo Saka

Arsenal have a reputation for penalty jiggery-pokery.

Infamously, Robert Pires and Thierry Henry combined to take the worst spot kick in Premier League history against Manchester City in 2005, emphatically failing to recreate Johan Cruyff's iconic pass to an on-rushing teammate.

The current team didn't attempt anything as audacious but did surprise fans - and their manager - when Martin Odegaard took the ball from regular taker Bukayo Saka against Crystal Palace on Monday night. Arsenal's skipper sent Sam Johnstone the wrong way to score the only goal of a nervy contest that raised a number of questions for the campaign going forward.

Here's everything you need to know about Arsenal's penalty takers for the 2023/24 season.

Why did Martin Odegaard take Arsenal’s penalty against Crystal Palace instead of Bukayo Saka?

To explain his surprise promotion to penalty taker, Odegaard revealed: "We have been taking in pre-season a lot and I've scored all of mine so I just asked him [Saka] and he gave it to me, so I have to thank him for that one."

Saka's fallibility from the spot was not restricted to Arsenal's training sessions. The England international failed to convert from 12 yards against Barcelona during a pre-season match. After skewing a decisive kick wide against West Ham United in the midst of Arsenal's stumbling title run-in last term, it appears that Saka has missed one too many.

Who is Arsenal's first-choice penalty taker for the 2023/24 season?

Mikel Arteta does not know the answer to that question. "I have no clue," Arsenal's manager freely admitted post-match. "It's about leadership of players, and if they felt it was the right thing to do, for me I'm fine.

"They have to make those decisions on the pitch. I was surprised like everybody else, but he scored the goal which is the important thing and we won the game."

When the topic came up in an interview with Viaplay last season, Odegaard expressed the same sentiment as his manager. "I think they change a bit," the skipper explained, "...so it becomes a discussion of who’s feeling good and who feels like they want to take it. If it's someone who’s scored [a penalty] then he's in a good position to take the next one as well."

Aside from the recent candidates of Odegaard and Saka, Gabriel Jesus was entrusted to take a spot kick last season (which he converted against Leeds United). On the final day of the 2021/22 campaign, Gabriel Martinelli was entrusted with the responsibility of scoring from 12 yards even though Saka was on the pitch against Everton. The Brazilian dispatched his effort but has not taken one since.

Jorginho is the most experienced specialist in Arsenal's squad, converting 41 of his 48 efforts (85%) for Chelsea, Napoli, Hellas Verona and Italy. However, the 31-year-old is firmly a backup option for Arsenal. Leandro Trossard isn't a guaranteed starter either but has regular experience of taking penalties for Genk in the Belgian top flight. Although, Neal Maupay, Pascal Gross and Alexis Mac Allister were all favoured from 12 yards over Trossard during his time at Brighton.

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Martin Odegaard's career record as a penalty taker

Odegaard's spot-kick against Crystal Palace was his first attempt from 12 yards since May 2019. At international level, Erling Haaland is Norway's undisputed first-choice taker and Odegaard only got the chance to try his luck for Vitesse Arnhem after four different players missed a penalty that season.

Bukayo Saka's career record as a penalty taker

The most famous penalty of Saka's career was saved by Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma to decide the final of Euro 2020. Saka had been a regular taker for England and Arsenal's youth teams before he got the nod at senior level last season.

Saka converted his first four Premier League penalties against the lofty opposition of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City but failed to hit the target when Arsenal went to the London Stadium last April.

The Gunners were 2-1 up when Saka planted his second-half spot kick wide, giving Jarrod Bowen the chance to equalise and rob Arsenal of two crucial points in the race for the Premier League title.

Gabriel Jesus' career record as a penalty taker

Saka was sat on the bench when Darren England whistled for a penalty in Arsenal's Premier League meeting with Leeds last April. Jesus had won the spot kick with a mesmeric piece of close control and converted with the confidence of a player that boasts a far superior record from 12 yards.

Since arriving in England with Manchester City in 2017, Jesus has taken 13 penalties for club and country, missing more than half (seven). Between November 2019 and the start of 2022, Jesus failed to convert five consecutive spot kicks.

Interestingly, Odegaard was on the pitch when the penalty against Leeds was awarded and held onto the ball while the referee finalised his decision. However, this was all a ploy to distract focus from Jesus as he composed himself.

Robert Pires used a similar tactic in the semi-final of Euro 2000, attracting the attention of Portugal's enraged players while his French teammate Zinedine Zidane gathered his thoughts in peace before scoring the golden goal. That is perhaps the only penalty lesson to take from Pires.

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