Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the attention thrust upon Martin Odegaard as a teenager has made the midfielder better prepared for this stage of his career.
Odegaard, who made a permanent move to Arsenal in August after impressing on loan last season, moved to Real Madrid when he was just 16. At the time, he was already a full international, having broken a 104-year record to become Norway's youngest ever player.
Things didn't always go swimmingly for the starlet in Spain, and he was sent on loan a number of times before eventually leaving the Bernabeu in a permanent deal worth a reported £30m. However, as the 23-year-old continues to prove doubters wrong, Arteta has pointed to the positive impact of that early-career pressure.
“Before the criticism, it was the price," Arteta told TV2 (via Sport Witness ). "And the price was so high, so early, without doing anything special.
"They set the list for him at a level he could not even see, because he did not get the opportunity to play. It was impossible for him to close that gap
“He had to accept many things: Not to play, to be out of the team, to be criticised. But it’s part of a player’s development.
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"It makes your skin thicker," continued the manager, who gave Odegaard the captain's armband for Arsenal's weekend defeat at Southampton. "If you get through those moments, you are much better prepared for the good times, as he is now.
“I see where he is now. It is up to him how far he can go. However, he has to be Martin Ødegaard because when he was 16 years old, people talked to him as if he were someone else, who had already made a career. That was his problem."
Odegaard played just 11 times for Real Madrid's first team after his €3m (£2.5m) move from Stromsgodset in 2015. He had loan spells with Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad before spending the second half of the 2020-21 season with Arsenal, and made a permanent switch to north London over the summer.
Odegaard had already captained Norway's national side on multiple occasions before wearing the armband for his club. International boss Stale Solbakken officially made him captain in 2021, and he skippered the side as they narrowly missed out on a spot in the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
"Talking to his national team coach and how highly they speak of him. He walks through the corridor and everybody loves him,” Arteta said in March.
"He is such a nice, humble guy and he leads with the way he is. It is very natural for him and that will come."
Alexandre Lacazette has captained Arsenal in an unofficial capacity since the departure of former skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. However, if Lacazette leaves when his contract expires at the end of the season, Odegaard could be next in line.
