One of Arsenal’s signings in the summer of 2021, Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard might not have scored many goals for the team but what he offers is more about vision and creativity – something that the Gunners have been lacking in recent seasons.
Arsenal are the current favourites to win this seasons Premier League at most major online sportsbooks. However, before you place your bets on Arsenal topping the table this season, you might want to consider what makes Martin Odegaard so special?
Growing Up in Norway
Born on the 17th of December 1998, Martin Odegaard seems to have had football in his blood. His father was a football player, and when Odegaard wanted to play for his local sports team (Drammen Strong), it was his father that stepped up to organise and coach a youth division.
From a young age, Martin Odegaard was heralded as a footballing prodigy. Regularly playing (and winning) against other children two or three years older than him, Odegaard was building a reputation as a world-class player before he’d even finished school.
At the age of 13 he began playing for the Stormsgodset first team, making his league debut just a couple of years later aged 15 years and 118 days old in 2014.
Out Across Europe
He soon caught the eye of European super team Real Madrid, and was signed to them in 2015 for a fee of three million Euros, spending much of his time playing and training with the Real Madrid Castilla (the reserve team) who was managed by Zinedine Zidane. He made his debut with the first team in the final fixture of the season, as the youngest player in club history (aged 16 years and 157 days).
With a bloated roster in both the first team and the reserves, Odegaard wasn’t getting the playing time that he needed to develop, so he got some time out on loan – with SC Heerenveen and SBV Vitesse between 2017 and 2019.
In July 2019 Odegaard was loaned to Spanish side Real Sociedad, and it was during that campaign that his loan club knocked his parent club out of the Copa Del Rey – which was some achievement.
When he returned to Real Madrid in 2020, his few starts with the club made him ask to go elsewhere, and he came to Arsenal on loan in the January transfer window, until the end of the 2020-21 season.
Arsenal Bound
While he might not have scored all the goals in the latter half of the season, what he managed to do instead was arguably more valuable – he impressed his teammates and more importantly, he impressed the enigmatic Mikel Arteta.
He brought creativity to a team that were really in the doldrums, using his excellent footballing mind and absurdly high work rate to help create chances from surprising areas.
Which is why Arsenal paid the 35 million Euro (plus bonuses) to make it a permanent transfer in August 2021, giving Martin Odegaard a home in London until at least 2025.
During the 2021-2022 season, Odegaard made 36 appearances and scored seven goals. While this isn’t the richest goalscoring record, it is his technique and vision that make him more valuable. With his assists, long balls, crosses and through balls, Odegaard is a midfielder with all the range that Arteta needed to pull themselves higher in the table.
Of course, the team is about more than just one player, and moving into the new season Odegaard swiftly became the glue that held the team together, with his unwavering good attitude and stamina.
Odegaard was given the honour of the captain’s armband at the start of the 2022-23 season.
As a player who was considered a prodigy as a child, then lacked the starts when he was playing in Europe, coming to Arsenal has given him the opportunity to develop in so many ways.
Already this season he has scored more goals in less appearances, improving on every aspect of his game play in a pretty impressive way.
What Makes Him Great?
Players, coaches and managers all love Martin Odegaard. He has become recognised for being what is often described as a ‘modern’ playmaker, taking his own footballing prowess, and using it to help his teammates get the ball when they need it to go on and score goals.
As a left-footed player, his deft touch and dribbling ability combine to make him a gifted technical player but it is his stamina, footballing mind, and creativity that make him a real visionary on the field.
Mikel Arteta said it himself when he described Odegaard’s incredible work rate – he is not afraid of working hard every single time he is on the pitch.
With Odegaard running midfield and handling the captain responsibilities, Arsenal are in the best form they have been in potentially decades, able to make a real challenge for the top spot in the Premier League.
