Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has hailed Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard as ‘one of the best players in Europe’ ahead of the Champions League quarter-final.
‘I saw him as a real young player,’ Ancelotti said at his pre-match press conference on Monday evening.
‘The talent he has now is the same talent he had at 17-years-old. He has had courage to go elsewhere and seek new opportunities to become one of the best players in Europe.’
On Arsenal and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, Ancelotti added: ‘Arsenal is very strong and powerful from set pieces.
‘We’ll try to defend as best we can, but we can also hurt the other team from set pieces. It’s a very important aspect of the game.
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‘Mikel is doing a fantastic job. In five years he has taken this team to the top of Europe, he is doing very well.
‘He has built a complete team, and there are not many complete teams in Europe. There are not many complete teams like Arsenal.’
More to follow…