After a progression of credits, the going-after midfielder is feeling at ease in north London
January has been a critical month in the football life of Martin Odegaard. It was when he signed with Real Madrid as a 15-year-old and was loaned out to Arsenal in 2021 for the fourth time since 2015.
Odegaard, 24, is leading a young. Vibrant Arsenal team that has scored 12 goals this season—one more than they did last year—and is eight points ahead of Newcastle, who are third, after Tuesday’s fractious 0-0 draw.
The north Londoners had never lost at home before this. This is also the second time in their last 11 games that they have failed to win and the first time they have failed to score in all competitions this season. Mikel Arteta, manager of Arsenal, declared that he was “proud of this team” despite his fury that two “scandalous penalties” were not awarded.
Odegaard, who was additionally the most engaged with armories going after arrangements. According to Opta going into the game, might have changed that however terminated over ahead of schedule. Odegaard had 32 shots, 25 created chances, and 28 buildups to shots before Newcastle.
However, London was a long way from where it is now when he arrived.
The Norwegian child prodigy, who Real bought for 2.3 million pounds. Appeared to be following in the footsteps of players like Freddy Adu, Adnan Januzaj, Javier Portillo, Alipio Duarte, and Nii Lamptey, who struggled to live up to their early promises. Odegaard was so good at Stromsgodset that he started playing with older players on a regular basis when he was 11 years old.
He was so good that top clubs came to the quiet Norwegian city of Drammen before Real beat them all. He made his debut for the La Liga champions 676 days after signing with them. That took place in Cop del Rey. After playing 81 minutes at Real in December and January, he was loaned to London.
Odegaard had played for Heerenveen, Vitesse, and Real Sociedad before Arsenal made the loan deal permanent in August 2021, signing him for five years and 30 million pounds.
There, the attacking midfielder demonstrated his capabilities. Odegaard was possibly the best player in La Liga until he was sent back to Madrid (31 games, 4 goals) and scored against Real in the Copa del Rey. This was prior to the 2020 Covid-19 football ban. He was, however, back on the Real bench at Real.
Everyone agreed that he was special, including Luka Modric. The coach of Real at the time was Zinedine Zidane and Jorge Valdano. The former club general manager who won the World Cup.
He can explain all that with a strung pass, spill, and shoot from mid-range,” said Valdano. Be that as it may, Genuine was “too wealthy in assets,” said Valdano. Modric, in whose position Odegaard could have played, was one of them. Playing like he could defy time—he did that again at the World Cup. Odegaard should wait until some of the older players were shipped out, Valdano hoped. Odegaard, however, wanted to leave after six years and eight games.
He desired to visit a place where he could play. It would be at a club where Thierry Henry regained his mojo at the turn of the century. Arteta took him on loan as he was rebuilding a club that looked lost after the Wenger era. Convinced by his ability off the ball and intelligence when he had it. This term, Arsenal’s success can be attributed to a variety of factors. Being able to match the intensity when rival teams raised theirs. Having the majority of players in the opposing half, and having faster starts.
For the most part, Odegaard has been at the forefront of this. He moves up through the middle and makes room for forwards. Additionally, he is essential to Arsenal’s press. Arteta has stated, “Taking the ball in moments others probably refuse to,” in addition to his “attitude,” “rhythm,” and “the way he presses and puts people under pressure.” Arteta had also praised Odegaard’s application and willingness to learn, noting that his crossing and passing could be improved.
Usually, good things happen when those things are present. I really like what he is doing because he is defining games and having a different kind of presence on the field. At Arsenal, captaincy has been a curse for more than a decade. After receiving the armband, Cesc Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny, and Robin van Persie all left. Arteta and Per Mertesacker played little after their appointments, and Granit Xhaka and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang were stripped of it. That has also changed under Odegaard.