WHEN Mikel Arteta announced Martin Odegaard would be made permanent Arsenal captain, a few eyebrows were raised.
After all, the mercurial midfielder is only 23-years-old, and has only been at the club for a few seasons.
However, the Gunners boss has clearly seen something in him that optimises the way he wants to play.
The Norwegian – skipper at international level – is direct and aggressive, battling but classy.
He wants to take his team forward, but isn’t afraid to put in the hard yards for his team.
All of this was on display in a breathless 2-1 win over Fulham at the Emirates on Saturday night.
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When the Gunners needed him most in North London, he came up trumps once again.
He knows he should be getting into double digit goals a season for the positions he gets himself into.
He said that himself after scoring twice against Bournemouth last weekend.
And when his side went behind against the Whites, and the first grumblings of the Gunners crowd could be heard, who was there?
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He popped up with a all-so important equaliser, albeit via a deflection, before Gabriel Magalhaes scored the winner.
If the goal itself wasn’t important enough, his performance overall was.
The Gunners skipper was sensational yet again, finding gaps to penetrate and get his team up the field.
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If Arsenal want to get in the Champions League this season, or dream of more, they need him to play like this every week.
The penny has finally dropped for Odegaard, after breaking into football at such a young age.
Maybe Arteta was right to make him captain after all.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
