Gary Neville names the one Arsenal player Man City would take 'in a heartbeat'

Gary Neville has named the one Arsenal player Manchester City would take "in a heartbeat".

The Gunners came away 1-0 winners over Everton on Sunday afternoon as they continue to chase first-placed Manchester City, who are yet to put a foot wrong this season.

Gabriel Martinelli looked to have broken the deadlock inside 20 minutes, only to have the goal chalked off for an unusual offside.

The Brazilian then limped off injured, with his replacement Leandro Trossard brilliantly turning home Bukayo Saka's cross shortly after the hour-mark to steal all three points at Goodison Park.

Throughout the game, Martin Odegaard shone, helping dictate his side's tempo in the middle of the park - and Neville reckons the Norwegian would seamlessly fit into Pep Guardiola's team, even comparing him to two City legends.

When asked which players had impressed him most this season, Neville told his Sky Sports podcast: "Odegaard, I’m not saying he’s as good as David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne yet, he’s got a bit to go in his career. But it’s getting to a point now whereby when I watch him play, it is so smooth and so silky.

"I knew he was always a talented player. But we’re now talking about something very different than just talented – this is real class.

"Pep Guardiola, I think, if you said take one player out of this Arsenal team, I think he’d take him in an absolute heartbeat. He would absolutely break into that Man City team because he’s a beautiful player to watch. Every time I watch him he gets better and better."

Since arriving on loan from Real Madrid in 2021 and signing a permanent deal the following summer, Odegaard has become one of Mikel Arteta's most important players. The 24-year-old has since been handed the captain's armband and already has two goals to his name this season.

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here HERE for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.

Topics: Martin Odegaard, Arsenal, Manchester City, Football, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Gary Neville

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno