Arsenal’s captain Martin Odegaard has become one of the most gifted and best all-round midfielders in the Premier League since moving to the Emirates in 2021. 

Odegaard joined Arsenal from Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £30 million which is a comparative bargain when considering that his current estimated value is £91.3 million (according to TransferMarkt)

The Norwegian has all the qualities that Mikel Arteta wants out of a leader on the pitch. His style of play dictates the midfield both on and off the ball and it is also worth mentioning that the midfielder isn’t shy to score a goal.

Since joining from Real Madrid, Odegaard has made 156 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 35 goals and providing 25 assists. He will be hoping to take the Gunners to their first Premier League title this season since 2003/04.

A Norwegian prodigy to a Real Madrid talent

Martin Odegaard spent his whole career with the expectation of becoming a world-class midfielder. He started his career in 2014 at the age of 15 with Norwegian side Stromsgodset and quickly set the record in the Eliteserien for being the youngest goal scorer in the league’s history.

Having been through the youth teams at Stromsgodset, the Norwegian club weren’t able to hold onto him long as a professional due to a certain Real Madrid’s long standing interest in the now 25-year-old.

He moved from Norway to Madid in 2015, just one year after he began his professional career for a fee of €4 million. He set Real Madrid’s record for it’s youngest ever player, but had to wait for his chance in the first team at the Bernabeu.

Odegaard first went on loan to Dutch side Heerenveen where he spent one season making 43 appearances and scoring three goals and five assists. After a successful first loan spell, he spent the next season at fellow Eredivisie side Vitesse where he made 39 appearances, but improved on his goal and assist record.

The midfielder scored 11 goals and 13 assists for Vitesse and was voted as the club’s Player of the Year by the fans.

Following his success in the Netherlands, Odegaard’s next loan move kept him in Spain as he went to fellow La Liga side Real Sociedad. The Norway international made 36 appearances for Sociedad and scored seven goals and nine assists.

He also won his first major trophy with the Spanish side as they won the Copa Del Rey in 2019/20 even helping to eliminate Madrid in the quarter-finals by scoring against his parent club. Despite all his success on loan, Carlo Ancelotti was reluctant to give Odegaard the big chance in Madrid. He made just eight appearances for the first team before Arsenal bought him in 2021.

Turning the Gunners into a title contender

Martin Odegaard was quick to make an impact at Arsenal and he helped Mikel Arteta develop the Gunners into a team that could challenge rivals Manchester City to a Premier League title.

After just one season at Arsenal, Odegaard was a staple in the first team and led them to a second-placed finish in the Premier League during the 2022/23 season just five points behind Manchester City.

Following his 37 appearance, 15 goal season in 2022/23 the Norway international was named as captain at the Emirates Stadium.

In the following year, he helped Arsenal to another second place finish just two points off Manchester City in what was an agonising finish to the season for the Gunners. He is hoping that this season, he will be the captain to lift the Premier League trophy.

A record-breaking international career for the Arsenal captain

Odegaard made his debut for the Norway international team aged just 15 years 253 days which is a record for his national side.

Furthermore, his first start came at the young age of just 16 making him the youngest player to ever start a European Championship qualifier which emphasises just how much of a prodigy the midfielder was as a youngster.

He has now made over 60 appearances for Norway, scoring three goals. He was made captain of the national team in 2021 aged 22 and now wears the armband for both club and country.

Three things you never knew about Martin Odegaard

Not known to many, Odegaard was a major Arsenal fan as a child as he always picked them when playing FIFA Career Mode in his youth.

He wasn’t just connected to the Gunners through gaming either as the 25-year-old had dinner with then Gunners boss Arsene Wenger when he was just 15 as Wenger was interested in signing him.

Despite being a Real Madrid prodigy, Martin Odegaard looked up to a certain Lionel Messi as a child. His boyhood coach Herald Johannessen said in an interview with These Football Times magazine in 2019: “He loves Messi, so that was a little bit strange – he loves Messi and he goes to Real Madrid.

“He was always looking at Messi. I remember that.”