Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told the Daily Star that he thinks Martin Odegaard is a ‘young leader’ at the club.
The Gunners swooped to sign Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid in January, taking him until the end of the season.
The Norwegian struggled for playing time under Zinedine Zidane this season, and he is now hoping for greater success under Arteta.
Odegaard made his first Premier League start last Sunday, featuring in the 4-2 win over Leeds United whilst turning in a promising display.
He followed that up with another strong performance against Benfica on Thursday night, and he could well feature against Manchester City today.
Arsenal fans are excited about Odegaard, and may hold out hope that he will stay longer; either on loan for another year or even permanently.
Now, Arteta has suggested that there will be talks at the end of the season to thrash out Odegaard’s future, currently focusing just on his time with the playmaker.
Arteta even added that he thinks Odegaard is a ‘young leader’ at Arsenal, praising him for showing character and intelligence on the pitch – huge praise for the 22-year-old.
“We have Martin for a few months and have to maximise this time,” said Arteta. “At the end of the season we’ll sit together and decide where we can take that relationship forward. It doesn’t just depend on us.”
“He’s a young leader. On the pitch, he is showing a lot of character and intelligence. He’s been here a very short time but adapted very quickly. He’s getting more and more respect from the players and his impact will increase with every week,” he added.
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