When Arsenal really needed Martin Ødegaard, the captain finally rediscovered his magic touch. Gabriel Magalhães had just opened the scoring against Aston Villa after a first half in which Mikel Arteta’s nervous side were struggling without the influential Declan Rice. Then it happened.

Jadon Sancho was waiting to receive a pass from Youri Tielemens inside Villa’s half but, before the forward knew it, Ødegaard had pinched the ball and was haring towards Emiliano Martínez’s goal. A jink back on to his left foot fooled Tielemens and allowed Ødegaard to play through the perfect through ball for Martín Zubimendi to score the crucial second. It was the fifth goal or assist that Zubimendi has contributed to since he joined in the summer – the joint-best return of his club career – and the Spaniard’s impact was rightly hailed by a delighted Arteta. “Credit to his teammates as well, how easy they make it for him,” said the Arsenal manager in a nod to Ødegaard.

The Norway international, who scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the win over Brighton on Saturday, also had a hand in Leandro Trossard’s third goal with a devilish cross that Villa failed to clear, and looked back to his best after injuries affected him both last season and the first half of this one. Ødegaard had more touches and shots than any other Arsenal player, even if he couldn’t cap his performance with a deserved goal.

“He needed some consistency as well,” Arteta said. “Obviously he had two times a shoulder injury, then he had a big knee injury and that takes a little bit of time. Now you can see that he is flowing, that his energy level is back to where it is, that he is taking risks, that he is affecting the game in a great way. I think he was playing really well today.”

In August the former Arsenal captain Tony Adams suggested Ødegaard should be replaced as captain by Rice given his drastic loss of form. That was never going to happen, such is his standing within the squad. The arrival of Eberechi Eze for £67.5m in the summer was meant to provide the creative spark Arsenal were missing last season, but the England forward has been increasingly marginalised since Ødegaard returned in late November from a knee injury that forced him to miss seven matches.

That is a reflection of Ødegaard’s rejuvenation, although he has admitted his goals return has not been good enough since he scored 15 in the 2022-23 Premier League season when Arsenal finished as runners-up for the first time under Arteta. “I’ve been waiting for that one,” he said of his strike against Brighton.

Ødegaard managed only three goals last season in another campaign interrupted by injuries, with the arrival of his first child last December probably not helping him catch up on sleep. He could have made more of a couple of opportunities late on against Villa, but the signs are there that he is ready to contribute much more as Arsenal head into the new year with a spring in their step, five points clear of Manchester City for now although that could become two again on New Year’s Day.

The same cannot be said of Viktor Gyökeres. For the first 45 minutes against Villa, Arsenal supporters must have been wondering whose idea it was to spend £64m on a striker who did not appear to offer much in any department. Of the five touches Gyökeres managed, three were shots or headers that missed the target and another involved a loss of possession to Ezri Konsa in the centre circle that should have led to a goal for Ollie Watkins. With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus back on the bench after long injury layoffs, it seemed possible Gyökeres would not re-emerge for the second half after Arsenal had been second-best against Unai Emery’s in-form team.

Perhaps mainly because of a lack of alternatives until now, Arteta has shown real faith in the striker who plundered 54 goals in 52 games for Sporting last season. That was rewarded to an extent when Gyökeres was heavily involved in the move that led to the Arsenal corner from which Gabriel opened the scoring on Tuesday, although that was as good as it got for him.

At least Ødegaard proved there was another Scandinavian in the mood to take the game by the scruff of the neck before Gyökeres was replaced by Jesus, who scored with his first touch and must be in the frame to start against Bournemouth on Saturday instead. The only saving grace for Gyökeres was that Watkins – the Arsenal fan spotted after the game asking Patrick Vieira for a selfie and who Arteta tried to sign last January – also endured an off night on his 30th birthday until he scrambled a late consolation goal to make it seven in 12 appearances against the club.

Competition and scrutiny are poised to heat up for Gyökeres over the next few weeks with Havertz also back in the frame. Rice also looks likely to return against Bournemouth but Arsenal have already got their captain back.