Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard got so fed up with Ross Barkley dribbling past him during the Gunners’ recent last gasp win away to Luton Town that he asked the midfielder to stop.
Barkley, who is enjoying a Premier League renaissance since arriving at Kenilworth Road, successfully went past Odegaard on four occasions.
And the Luton star claims Odegaard eventually asked him to relent in a game that Mikel Arteta's side won thanks to Declan Rice's goal deep in added time.
In an interview with The Times, Barkley said: “Odegaard did say, “You have to stop running at me with the ball!’ Declan [Rice] is physical. Odegaard is less physical but world-class on the ball. When I had the ball, I knew I could move the ball away from him.
“Teams expect Luton to be more direct. With me, I try and bring calmness to the middle of the park, suck a few players in and give other players more time on the ball.”
Barkley, 30, has made nine league starts for Luton having joined on a free transfer following a mixed experience at Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s French side Nice last season.
And his recent form has been so good that the ex-Chelsea and Everton man is backing himself to earn an England recall. Barkley has 33 caps but his most recent appearance for the Three Lions came in 2019.
Yet with hopes that a line has been drawn through his injury issues, the midfielder reckons he could help Gareth Southgate ’s team become the No 1 ranked team in the world ahead of this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
“I feel I’m good enough to play for England again,” Barkley added. “The squad’s developed and become a stronger unit, No 3 in the world, and I know Gareth Southgate’s goal is to be No 1. We are going in that direction. I feel I could help with that because I do add something different. Maybe my role is a role that could be good for England.
Describing his time at Nice, he added: "It was good at times and bad at times. I was motivated to go there to go and play, to help the team, but it was difficult. It’s a different language obviously; there were a few lads like Kasper Schmeichel, Joe Bryan, Aaron Ramsey I could speak to.
“The French do have banter but it’s different: in the dressing room after wins, all the lads get round the table and start banging the table, one of the lads leads, everyone joins in, singing, dancing and throwing water about. For me, it felt like how a team would be after they won a final. But it was like that after every win.”