Arsenal are now planning to renew the contract of Gunners captain Martin Odegaard. The Norway midfielder has produced a superb season so far leading Mikel Arteta’s title charge.
That is according to Marca, which reports Emirates Stadium chiefs are exploring new terms for Odegaard. The 24-year-old is only tied down in north London to June 2025 after signing a four-year deal upon his arrival. He left Real Madrid for £34m in 2021 after an initial loan.
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Odegaard was Arsenal’s top transfer target in the summer of 2021, per The Athletic, after convincing everyone at the club of his quality and character whilst on loan. His leadership has also shone through in north London to deserve taking over the captaincy in July 2022.
Arsenal want to reward Martin Odegaard with a new contract
Rather than be weighed down by the armband, Odegaard has risen to the task. The 47-cap maestro is Arsenal’s joint-top goalscorer with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on seven goals so far this term. Just Gabriel Jesus (7) and Saka (6) have also offered more assists (5).
In the Premier League alone, Odegaard has helped to guide Arsenal to the top of the table with his and Martinelli’s joint-team-high seven goals. No midfielder has found the back of the net more often than the Gunners skipper across the top-flight through 17 or 18 games.
Bukayo Saka has been full of praise for the Gunners captain
Arsenal hold a five-point lead over defending Premier League champions Manchester City after 17 games played. Arteta has started Odegaard in 16 of the Gunners’ fixtures having not had the Norwegian available once. He sat out a 3-0 win at Brentford with a calf injury.
Now, Arsenal wish to reward Odegaard by offering the Drammen-born star a new contract at the Emirates. Per Spotrac, he is currently only the sixth-top earner at the club on £115k-a-week. So, the midfielder can likely expect to gain a respectable pay rise with new terms.
Praise from teammates like Saka also shows Odegaard’s importance and why Arsenal now want to renew his contract. The forward told BBC Sport after his skipper scored once and assisted Martinelli with a sublime through ball to win 4-2 away at Brighton & Hove Albion:
“Our captain is playing amazing. He does so much for the team. He is the orchestra of our team, he is a really efficient captain [and] he does a lot of talking on the pitch.”
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