The complete Premier League No.10 - why Arsenal captain Ødegaard deserves a new deal

Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville was full of praise for Arsenal midfielder Martin Ødegaard after an impressive performance during his side’s 1-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League. Although it was Bukayo Saka that ultimately found the breakthrough in the 69th minute to set up Leandro Trossard’s goal, Neville singled out the Norwegian talent for praise.

Market Value

M. Ødegaard Attacking Midfield

€90.00m

“He’s a beautiful player to watch, and every time I watch him he gets better and better,” noted the English pundit on his podcast after the game. “Arsenal must recognise what they have, I’m talking about the Arsenal players who must feed him as much as they possibly can. The more he gets on the ball in the final third the more assists and goals they’ll have in matches.” And it seems as though Mikel Arteta & Co. agree with Neville's evaluation of the player.

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal are in advanced discussions with their club captain over a new contract that would see Ødegaard’s weekly wage almost double from €140k to €232k. As well as tie the midfielder down to a deal that would see him stay at the club well beyond the expiration of his current deal, which runs out in 2025. So what’s behind the clamour to sign the midfielder up to a new deal and such high praise from a former player of one of Arsenal’s biggest rivals?

How good has Martin Ødegaard been for Arsenal?

So far this season Ødegaard has bagged two goals from his first six games in all competitions and while that may not seem remarkable, it does hint at what the midfielder has offered Arteta’s side since he completed a permanent move to Arsenal in the summer of 2021 for €35 million. For example, over the course of the last three seasons only Saka has bagged more goals in the Premier League than Ødegaard among Arsenal’s players. In fact, no other central midfielder in the English top flight has scored more goals than the Norwegian talent in that time period either.

What makes Ødegaard so vital to Arteta’s side is that he not only offers a clear source of goals for his side, but is also an excellent playmaker too. Among central midfielders in the Premier League, the Arsenal star sits ninth for assists over the past three league campaigns and top for an Arsenal player. Couple that with 147 league key passes in that period - a return bettered only by Bruno Fernandes and Kevin de Bruyne - and it's abundantly clear that Ødegaard is a leading playmaker in the Premier League. And at just 24 years of age, there’s little doubt that he’s only going to get better in the year to come.