Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has become one of the most talented and versatile midfielders in the Premier League since moving to the Emirates in 2021.
Odegaard joined Arsenal from Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £30 million which is a comparative bargain considering his current estimated value is £91.3 million (according to TransferMarkt)
The Norwegian has all the qualities Mikel Arteta wants in a leader on the pitch. His style of play dictates the midfield both on and off the ball and it is also worth mentioning that the midfielder is not shy about scoring goals.
Since joining from Real Madrid, Odegaard has made 156 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 35 goals and providing 25 assists. He hopes to bring the Gunners to their first Premier League title this season since 2003/04.
The Norwegian prodigy who became a Real Madrid talent
Martin Odegaard has spent his entire career hoping to become a world-class midfielder. He began his career in 2014 at the age of 15 with Norwegian club Stromsgodset and quickly set a record in the Eliteserien as the youngest goalscorer in the league’s history.
After coming through the youth ranks at Stromsgodset, the Norwegian club were unable to keep him for long as a professional due to Real Madrid’s long-term interest in the now 25-year-old.
He moved from Norway to Madid in 2015, just one year after he started his professional career for a fee of €4 million. He set a Real Madrid record as the youngest player, but had to wait for his chance to enter the first team at the Bernabeu.
Odegaard was first loaned to Dutch club Heerenveen where he spent a season making 43 appearances and scoring three goals and five assists. After a successful first loan spell, he spent the following season at fellow Eredivisie side Vitesse, where he made 39 appearances, but saw his goal and assist records improve.
The midfielder scored 11 goals and 13 assists for Vitesse and was voted Player of the Year by fans.
Following his success in the Netherlands, Odegaard’s next loan move saw him remain in Spain as he moved to fellow La Liga club Real Sociedad. The Norway international made 36 appearances for Sociedad and scored seven goals and nine assists.
He also won his first major trophy with the Spanish team when they won the Copa Del Rey in 2019/20 and even helped eliminate Madrid in the quarter-finals by scoring a goal against his parent club. Despite his success on loan, Carlo Ancelotti is reluctant to give Odegaard a big opportunity at Madrid. He only appeared eight times for the first team before being bought by Arsenal in 2021.
Turning the Gunners into title contenders
Martin Odegaard has quickly made an impact at Arsenal and he has helped Mikel Arteta develop the Gunners into a team that can challenge rivals Manchester City for the Premier League title.
After just one season at Arsenal, Odegaard became a mainstay in the first team and led them to finish in second place in the Premier League during the 2022/23 season just five points behind Manchester City.
Following his 37 appearances, 15 goals in the 2022/23 season, the Norway international was named captain at Emirates Stadium.
The following year, he helped Arsenal to second place and just two points behind Manchester City in a painful finish to the Gunners’ season. He hopes that this season he can be the captain who lifts the Premier League trophy.
A record-breaking international career for the Arsenal captain
Odegaard made his debut for the Norwegian international team at the age of 15 years and 253 days which was a record for his national team.
Additionally, his first appearance as a starter came at the young age of 16, making him the youngest player ever to start in a European Championship qualifier. This shows how great the midfielder was when he was young.
He has now made over 60 appearances for Norway, scoring three goals. He was made captain of the national team in 2021 at the age of 22 and now wears the armband for both club and country.
Three things you never knew about Martin Odegaard
Unknown to many, Odegaard was a huge Arsenal fan as a child as he always picked them when playing FIFA Career Mode in his youth.
He isn’t just connected to the Gunners through the game, as the 25-year-old had dinner with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger when he was just 15 because Wenger was interested in signing him.
Despite being a prodigy at Real Madrid, Martin Odegaard admired Lionel Messi as a child. His childhood coach Herald Johannessen said in an interview with These Football Times magazine in 2019: “He loved Messi, so it was a bit strange – he loved Messi and he went to Real Madrid.
“He always pays attention to Messi. I remember that.”
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