Arsenal ace Martin Odegaard has been praised for bringing ‘something special’ to this Gunners side – his leadership skills.
Mikel Arteta’s men won once again on Saturday night as they beat Brighton and Hove Albion 4-2 on the South Coast.
Odegaard was one of the star performers for Arsenal as he turned in a superb display.
The Norwegian scored Arsenal’s second goal from the edge of the box before playing a stunning pass to set up Gabriel Martinelli for number four.
£30million for Odegaard now looks to be a quite incredible bargain for Arsenal and he looks to be the driving force in their title push.
After a few years finding himself on the fringes at Real Madrid, Odegaard is now finally living up to his early billing.
Crooks hails Arsenal leader Odegaard
It’s not just Odegaard’s technical ability and creativity on the ball that is earning praise though.
Odegaard has taken on the role as Arsenal captain this season and it looks to be an inspired decision by Arteta and co.
Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had their struggles with the armband whilst Alexandre Lacazette always seemed like a strange choice with his contract running out.
Odegaard may only be 24 but he has been the perfect captain so far for Arsenal, leading by example on and off the pitch.
Pundit Garth Crooks – a former Tottenham player – has now offered praise for Odegaard’s leadership ability.
Crooks has told BBC Sport that Odegaard is doing something seriously special at Arsenal by showing teammates his leadership kills.
Crooks noted that special captains lead Arsenal to glory and he believes Odegaard could do the same, even if it’s early to talk about the Premier League title.
“You can’t mention Arsenal these days without it being accompanied by the name Martin Odegaard,” said Crooks. “The Norwegian international is doing something rather special among his team-mates. He’s showing them leadership.”
“His performance against Brighton once again demonstrated how far the Gunners have come under his captaincy. His quality on the ball has also not gone unnoticed. His pass for Gabriel Martinelli to seal another three points and stretch the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table was outstanding.”
“Arsenal have always had outstanding captains whenever they have gone on to do something special. It is still early days to be talking about titles but they do have a leader in Odegaard who is capable of special things,” he added.
Big tests are to come for Arsenal, with two games against Manchester City to come.
Yet with Odegaard steering the ship, Arsenal fans will have confidence that he will be lifting trophies soon enough.
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