Mikel Arteta believes the demands Martin Odegaard places on himself means he is only going to get better.
Odegaard signed for Arsenal on a permanent deal from Real Madrid in the summer of 2021 and was made the club’s captain only a year later. At the time he was only 23 years old, but had already captained his national team for more than a year, taking the armband in March 2021.
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In an interview with Marca, Arsenal manager Arteta explained what makes Odegaard so unique.
“His self-demand is brutal,” he said. “He understands everything very well and learns quickly. We help him by giving him responsibility and confidence by making him a captain. I told him: ‘with this [role] will come more demands and your ability to transmit will be the key. Be you.’”
Although not known for barking orders on the pitch in the manner of John Terry or Roy Keane, Arteta insists Odegaard’s voice is listened to when it matters.
“Martin is very reserved, but when he speaks, he is heard. He does everything required: he takes care of himself; he cares and improves others; he has education, love for the game, commitment.
“His numbers are very good: the midfielder with the most goals in the history of the Premier League along with [Frank] Lampard. And he can still improve at 24 years old.”
Odegaard is coming off the back of his most successful Premier League season to date, scoring a total of 15 goals for Arsenal last season.
He also captained the club to their highest points tally in nearly 20 years, but his side narrowly missed out on Premier League glory.
However, Arsenal do have a return to Champions League football to look forward to and, going into the 20-year anniversary of the legendary ‘Invincibles’ team, Odegaard insists his side simply have to try again this season.
Arteta and Odegaard will hope to kick off another title charge when Arsenal host Nottingham Forest on the 12 of August as their opening Premier League fixture for the new season.
