Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown waxed lyrical on current Gunners captain Martin Odegaard in a recently conducted interview.
He spoke on how Odegaard is frequently ‘targeted’ by other teams, but he believes that this does not bother the Norwegian international – stating that he has the ‘toughness’ to be able to deal with it.
Keown enjoyed two stints as an Arsenal player – his first spell with the Gunners came between the years of 1984 and 1986, returning in 1993 and remaining with the club until 2004.
What did Martin Keown say regarding Martin Odegaard?
Speaking on Eurosport, Keown said: “I think you’ve got a play him [Odegaard]. The thing is he needs more protection. Everybody tries to get tight to him. Everyone’s leaving a bit on him.
“This guy is tough as steel. He’s not one of them that will fall over. So, whenever I see him go down, I know it’s something real.
“He’s one of those players that we have to protect obviously, from an England point of view, from an Arsenal point of view. But you know he’s the player that is targeted. The manager, I’m sure will, whenever the team is ahead, try and get him off.
“I just feel that he’s one of those where you’ve got to try to read the scripts where you can get in front, and get him off sometimes.”
Is Martin Odegaard the best player at Arsenal?
Deciding Arsenal’s best player in the current squad is incredibly tough. Odegaard is a phenomenal midfielder, but he must also contend with superlative talents such as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba.
However, Odegaard would certainly be an excellent choice to fulfil this lofty position. His game is virtually flawless – not only is he a brilliantly creative player in the middle of the park, he also possesses an indefatigable work rate and his defensive attributes are often overlooked.
His positives do not end there – as Arsenal captain, he leads by example, always looking to provide midfield generalship and making himself available as a passing option. He never shies away from a fight, even under the most difficult of circumstances.
