Martin Odegaard has spoken about how he has helped the development of Arsenal youngsters Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka.
Odegaard enjoyed an extremely productive performance during the 3-2 win against Watford on Sunday afternoon, netting the opener - his fifth Premier League goal of the season.
The 22-year-old has delivered a number of consistent performances in recent times to help the Gunners climb up to fourth in the current Premier League standings, an impressive feat considering they have three games in hand on fifth-placed Manchester United.
Now, the Norway captain has spoken about the club's summer transfer business as technical director Edu was able to convince him to sign a permanent deal following a short-term loan at the Emirates Stadium last season.
“The club did really well,” he told the PA news agency.
“I think they had a clear plan what they wanted to do and what kind of players and profiles they wanted to bring in and I think everyone they brought in has done a great job, helped the team and improved the team a lot, so credit to them.”
The talented playmaker has also admitted that he has tried to help Hale End academy graduates Saka and Smith Rowe with their development this term.
“Yes, of course,” he said when asked if he can use his experiences at the Bernabeu to help aid the development of the English duo.
“They don’t need a lot of help but of course I can give them some advice and tips about how I made sure to keep focused on football, have good people in my life.
“I think they’ve been through a lot already but we can talk about different experiences, I can help with that.”
He continued: “Football now, it has changed a little bit during the years and I think Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, of course, are a big part of that with the goals and the assists and everything.
“Now everyone just judges you on if you score goals or assist but, to me, the most important thing is to help the team to win.
“So if I make the last pass, or score the goal, or make the third-last past it is not the most important thing to me, I want to help the team to win and improve. If I had the third-last pass and we scored then I’m happy.”
