Yaya Toure wants to ‘see more’ from title-chasing Arsenal and believes the Premier League leaders are missing ‘brilliant’ captain Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal continued their Premier League title charge with a hard-fought 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Jurrien Timber headed home Arsenal’s second-half winner after a Piero Hincapie own goal cancelled out William Saliba’s opener at the Emirates Stadium.

The victory restored Arsenal’s five-point lead in the title race after second-placed Manchester City beat Leeds United 1-0 earlier in the weekend.

Despite beating Club World Cup champions Chelsea, Arsenal’s performance left Man City legend Toure slightly underwhelmed.

Toure said he wanted Arsenal’s players to be ‘more open’ and free as they chase a long-awaited title but acknowledged the team were ‘missing’ influential captain Odegaard.

Odegaard missed Arsenal’s win over Chelsea with a niggle and has not started any of the club’s last nine games in all competitions, partly because of injury but also partly due to a lack of form and the emergence of other players like £67.5m summer signing Eberechi Eze.

Still, Toure – who won three Premier League titles at Man City – believes Odegaard is a ‘huge miss’ for an Arsenal side bidding to win their first league title in 22 years.

Discussing Arsenal’s form and the title race after they beat Chelsea, Toure said on Sky Sports: ‘Man City are coming back well. Arsenal were doing well from the start of the season but they dropped a few points.

‘Those results might keep them a bit of doubt if I’m being honest because I didn’t see the players expressing themselves.

‘You have to understand as well that Martin Odegaard, the captain, is a brilliant player and for me he’s a huge miss. He plays between the lines, he moves very well, I love this type of player.

‘You can be worried about making mistakes at this stage of the season because it can cost the team but I want to see the players be more open.’

Toure added: ‘The first half was okay, it was okay. But I feel a bit disappointed because we want to see attacks and chances but we only saw three goals from set-pieces.

‘For a derby it’s strange. Winning today was obviously very important for Arsenal but as a fan I want to see more.’

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira was also somewhat surprisingly ‘disappointed’ by his former club’s performance in the win over Chelsea.

‘I think from the Arsenal point of view what really matters is the three points,’ he said. ‘It is really important for them.

‘When you look at the game a bit deeper, scoring from set-plays, the game was more open than we expected. You would expect Arsenal to go a little more forward.

‘Chelsea were organised well defensively which stopped Arsenal from creating chances. When you are top of the Champions League table, top of the Premier League table, in the final of a cup, the expectation is higher.

‘You expect more from this Arsenal. I am a little bit disappointed but what matters is to win. It’s not about the style because I think the style can be down to the fact they haven’t won the title in so long.

‘There could be a little desperation and stress because they want to do so well that you are not taking the risks you are at the start of the season.

‘Looking at where they are, a little bit of nervousness and pressure can have an impact on these games. I believe there is enough experience, quality, personality, to go on the field and win the game.’

Arsenal continue their Premier League title charge on Wednesday night against Brighton, who have won two games in a row following a poor run.

Brighton won at Brentford last weekend before beating Nottingham Forest on Sunday to close in on the top-half of the Premier League.

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Arsenal were again without captain Martin Odegaard for their Premier League showdown against Chelsea.

The Gunners were in need of a response after watching Manchester City enjoy a narrow win over Leeds United on Saturday which saw the gap at the top fo the table reduced to just two points.

Mikel Arteta was able to select the same team that romped to a 4-1 victory over Tottenham in last week’s north London derby with Eberechi Eze starting in the No.10 role behind in-form striker Victor Gyokeres.

Club captain Odegaard came on as a late substitute in that game and registered an assist for Gyokeres.

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour believes Eberechi Eze will get the nod again this weekend against Chelsea ahead of club captain Martin Odegaard.

Eze, a £60million signing from Crystal Palace last summer, scored twice against Tottenham in last Sunday’s derby as the Gunners inflicted more misery on their neighbours. Having scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture in November, five of his seven goals for Arsenal have come against their arch-rivals.

But there was a worrying lull for the England international between those two north London derbies. Eze was hauled off at half-time against Aston Villa in December and would start just two of his side’s next league 11 matches – failing to make it beyond the hour mark on both those occasions.

Eze started ahead of Odegaard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the captain back on the bench after a recent knock that ruled him out of the last two games.

The Norway international has picked up various injury issues this season that have contributed to his influence on the side waning – even prompting suggestions his days at the club could be numbered.  

Mikel Arteta’s biggest dilemma ahead of the visit of Chelsea is perhaps who starts alongside Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice in midfield.

Former Gunners star Parlour, who won three Premier League titles with the club, was impressed with Eze’s reaction to falling out of favour and believes Arteta will stick with the player who delivered last time out.

‘Odegaard has gone through a tough time this season with a few injuries. But he really has that quality in those little areas of the pitch he can get out of trouble,’ Parlour told Metro via BetMGM

‘On his day he is different class. But Eze has bided his time. It’s disappointing when you don’t play but you have to keep working hard an show desire in training and showing the right attitude. It’s easy to come in and start sulking.

‘He didn’t play for quite a while but it is all about attitude beyond that. Being in training first, being ready to go. That’s what I would I have done and managers notice that.

He got his opportunity again against Spurs and scored two good goals. But now he has to get his head down.

‘I don’t know what the team is going to be at the weekend because we know Chelsea are very strong in midfield. Palmer, Caicedo and Fernandez are all very good players. We know Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice will play.

‘I think Eze will probably start. But Arteta will have been assessing things in training this week. And you can’t rest players when you are going for the title, you need your best team.

‘But momentum is so important when you are winning. He will assess that but I think Eze might keep his place.’

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Mikel Arteta has provided injury updates on Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Sunderland.

The Gunners head into the weekend after an excellent pair of results following their setback against Manchester United, thrashing Leeds United last weekend before booking their place in the Carabao Cup final with a win over Chelsea.

Injuries have been a concern, however. Saka withdrew from the Arsenal starting XI during the warm-up shortly before kick-off at Elland Road, also missing the visit of Chelsea midweek. Noni Madueke started ahead of him in both games.

Odegaard played 61 minutes against Leeds but picked up a ‘niggle’ that afternoon that saw him left out of the squad midweek.

The duo were not pictured in training on Thursday with Jurrien Timber also absent.

Speaking ahead of the visit of the Black Cats, Arteta revealed the Dutchman is ‘fine’, suggesting he is fit to start on Saturday.

While Saka is ‘much better’, Arteta suggested this weekend will come too soon for him.

‘His hip is much better, and hopefully very soon he will be with us,’ Arteta said.

Odergaard however is set to miss out again with his manager explaining he is still ‘a few days away’.

More to follow

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