A new deal for Odegaard makes all the sense

Morning all, happy Friday.

Mikel Arteta will meet the press a bit later on today, to talk about our game against Everton and whatever else crops up. I’m sure he’ll be asked about injuries, but won’t give anything away. He’s not one to provide any information that might be of any use to the opposition manager, although I don’t know if Sean Dyche necessarily tailors his game-plan to specific players as much as the team he’s facing. Expect a low block at Goodison.

Perhaps he might say something – if asked – about Martin Odegaard and a new contract, something we expect to happen quite soon. Having already tied down Bukayo Saka, Gabriels Magalhaes and Martinelli, and William Saliba, the captain is the next obvious recipient of new terms. Not just to reward his improvement, but to secure his future.

We spoke about him a bit on the new Arsecast, and he has been a very impressive figure since he joined the club – and I even include the loan spell. He was hampered by injury a bit, and playing in a team which was, it’s fair to say, very much a work in progress. However, he showed more than enough for me to want us to go out and make the deal permanent if we could.

Think back to that summer and there was a split between people who wanted Odegaard and those who wanted James Maddison. The latter is obviously a decent player, but it feels to me like he’s now at exactly the right club for his van der Vaart-level stylings. Odegaard has come into Arsenal, developed his game in all kinds of ways, raised the floor of his performance levels significantly, and taken on the mantle of captain to very good effect.

People talk a lot about how Mikel Arteta has cultivated a better connection between the team and the fans, and that is absolutely true, but Odegaard does it too. He takes time to acknowledge the fans after almost every game (obviously you don’t always get to see when watching from afar), and I enjoy the confidence with which he carries himself as…

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Author : arseblog

Publish date : 2023-09-15 06:27:48

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