At just 24 years old, Martin Odegaard is having the best season of his career so far. After spending much of his early career with Real Madrid, the Norwegian midfielder has finally found a place to call home at Arsenal and is thriving as the team’s captain.
His performances this season have been top-notch; he’s been instrumental in helping Arsenal move up in the table and reach their highest league position. His technical ability has made him a creative mastermind on the pitch, with his vision and passing helping to create countless goalscoring opportunities throughout the campaign.
Odegaard has 7 goals and 5 assists in 16 Premier League games and is instrumental in Mikel Arteta’s scheme.
The young Norwegian’s skills dazzled former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand. “This boy is Mozart; he rolls the ball between people’s legs, and he seems like a reincarnation of the best Mesut Özil. You can tell that he is comfortable in his role and is growing very well as Arsenal captain,” Rio Ferdinand declared after the game between Brighton and Arsenal, where Odegaard had a masterful performance.
Arsenal boss Arteta himself admits that it is sublime to see the entire repertoire of this player. “He completed a ‘top’ performance. You have to see everything he did with… and without the ball. The way in which he led the team in many moments is incredible. He had a brutal impact and a great presence in how we played”. This is how he assessed Odegaard’s outstanding performance on Boxing Day against West Ham.