ARSENAL captain Martin Odegaard would have had “tears rolling down his face”, according to Peter Crouch.
That’s after Mikel Arteta reportedly took team-mate Bukayo Saka out to dinner last week.
Odegaard, 24, has established himself as a key man in Arsenal’s starting XI following an initial loan move from Real Madrid two years ago.
The Norwegian has 20 goals in 98 games under Arteta.
And his leadership on the field was rewarded with the captain’s armband last summer.
However, former Premier League star Crouch has joked that Arteta has another favourite in winger Saka.
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The England star has equally become one of Arsenal’s top players and has led their drive towards a potential first Premier League title since the 2003-04 Invincibles.
According to the Mail, Saka was taken out for dinner by boss Arteta to a swanky restaurant in Mayfair.
The pair dined in front of stunned onlookers at the famous Novikov eatery after beating Bournemouth last month.
And Crouch has joked that Odegaard will have been left feeling upset when he saw the news.
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Speaking on his podcast, the ex-Liverpool and Spurs man said: “The way I’m seeing it is he [Saka] is such an important player for Arsenal and his contract is up in a year’s time.
“There might be some buttering up going on there. What do you say if your manager says ‘We’re going for dinner tonight’… do you turn that down?”
Fellow host Chris Stark replied: “Odegaard will be fuming about that. The man spends his life ‘parching’ Arteta. Imagine he wakes up and sees that on social.”
To which Crouch joked: “Across the newspapers over breakfast, I reckon a little tear will just roll down his face.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk