You could see from Martin Ødegaard how much it meant to lift the Premier League trophy for Arsenal, the same as to lead Norway to the World Cup quarter-finals. Two fantastic performances for the captain in a season where “the surroundings” have given the 27-year-old so much trouble.
Where disgruntled Arsenal supporters halfway through last season used a bunch of words on social media to urge the club to sell Martin Ødegaard, the captain responded by leading Arsenal all the way to the historic Premier League title and Champions League final. After the Iraq match in the World Cup, “experts” in the biggest Norwegian media used a bunch of words to explain why Ødegaard had to be on the bench. The captain responded by leading Norway to a historic World Cup quarter-final. We have been looking for a description that covers Martin Ødegaard’s massive impact on the match arena, the training field and in the dressing room. Now we found it.
The Swedish national team player Lucas Bergvall showed in the World Cup that he is a really exciting type of player with creativity, technique and speed that bodes well for the Swedish national team. The 20-year-old has his career ahead of him, but Roberto de Zerbi sent direct signals to Bergvall when he took over the management at Tottenham, that Spurs need a central midfielder who can help drive results throughout the season.
Bergvall has signalled he will seek more playing time outside of Tottenham, with both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest jumping at the opportunity.
So where does Martin Ødegaard come in?
We came across a statement from a former Tottenham scout, Bryan King. He compared Bergvall and Ødegaard.
“I don’t hold him in high esteem (Bergvall). He is not a player who is going to bring a league gold to a football club for me. He’s a good footballer, but he’s two shots below [Martin] Ødegaard in the way he plays,” King told Football Insider.
The £50-60 million player is two levels below Ødegaard.
There you have an adequate description of Martin Ødegaard’s massive impact on the match arena, the training field and in the locker room: A player who brings league gold to the club.
