Thank you, Real Madrid.
It almost feels like a ritual to say that every time I watch Martin Odegaard play at Arsenal these days. The Norwegian magician has become an absolutely integral part of the current setup. The summer window brought with it so much uncertainty regarding the attacking midfield role with a need to add more creativity to the side paramount.
Odegaard looked for months like he would be staying at Los Blancos but the newly appointed Carlo Ancelotti decided quickly that the then 22-year-old would not form part of his plans. Meanwhile, Arsenal were looking into alternatives should they fail in their hope to sign him.
James Maddison of Leicester City was the main figure that was suggested and football.london understands the Gunners made an approach which focused on a player-plus-cash deal to include one of Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Eddie Nketiah.
However, despite the Foxes’ rejections, Arsenal ended up getting their man and Odegaard joined for a reasonable fee in the region of £30 million-plus bonuses.
Although the playmaker previously endured a six-month loan where he failed to convince the majority that he was the man to take the creative midfield role forwards, Odegaard has become an integral part of the Arsenal team.
He has eight goal contributions this season already with a ninth denied to him against Watford by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, it is the passing statistics that stand out. FBref shows where players rank in Europe’s top five leagues and Odegaard’s metrics are at a world-class level.
Ranking in the 96th percentile for pass completion is very good but easily could be argued that those attempted are too safe or sideways.
However, this can be easily disregarded when noticing Odegaard ranks in the 82nd percentile for passes into the final third, the 87th percentile for passes into the penalty area and in the 90th percentile for key passes.
As a creator, only Santi Cazorla comes to mind. I stop short of mentioning Mesut Ozil because positionally, Mikel Arteta has now changed Odegaard’s role in the ream. The Spaniard has deployed Odegaard as the right central midfielder in a 4-3-3.
No longer the out and out number ten, the 23-year-old supports Bukayo Saka, looking to combine with the England international which has seen so many high-quality chances created from it.
Like Cazorla, Odegaard has the criticism for sometimes playing one pass too many when a shot should be taken. Unsurprising when Odegaard ranks in the 90th percentile for shot-creating actions, however, perhaps the Gunners could get a few more goals if he takes the initiative when it presents itself.
Once again, I say thank you to Real Madrid for being mad enough for letting go of this talented young player. Beyond the technical skill, Odegaard is also proving to be an excellent leader and even putting himself in contention to take on the captain’s armband next season.
Despite featuring in the senior game for seven years already, knowing that another ten years of top-level football can be extracted from Odegaard is an exciting prospect.
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