Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told Football.London that he isn’t surprised to see Martin Odegaard become the new Norway captain.
The January loan signing from Real Madrid has made a big impact over the last week, scoring against Olympiacos and Arsenal.
Odegaard is becoming a fan favourite at the Emirates Stadium, and it’s reasonable to expect that Arsenal will look to keep him.
Whether that is a permanent deal or just another loan spell remains to be seen, but reports this week have suggested that Arteta is very keen.
The Daily Mail claim that Arteta wants Odegaard at Arsenal in some capacity next season, with a deal to be explored at the end of the season.
Odegaard has now been named Norway captain at the age of just 22, summing up Odegaard’s standing not only as a player, but also as a character.
Arteta has now admitted that he is ‘not surprised’ by the news, because he now understands that Odegaard is humble and dedicated having spent time with him.
Arteta is bigging up Odegaard as a captain figure, and those words about him as a man are us as likely to convince him to stay as any praise about him as a player.
“I’m not surprised.” said Arteta. “After spending some time with him now I’m not surprised at all because he’s got this personality. He’s a really humble and easy going guy but at the same time very, very professional, very dedicated and leads by example which normally a captain should do,” he added.
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