Martin Odegaard made it four goals in five with another clinical match-winner in the 1-0 victory against Napoli, but the Arsenal captain was then the target of a few words from Mikel Arteta that were a touch more pointed that the widespread praise in recent weeks.
Arteta had inevitably been asked about his playmaker continuing this form, of being decisive in the destination of the major trophies as well as matches like this.
“First of all, he has to be available,” Arteta noted.
As elementary as that might sound given that Odegaard failed to appear in 43 per cent of Arsenal’s games last season – missing 27 from 63 – those who know both say it was a specific message.
It was of a piece with Arteta’s conspicuous line after the opening-day 3-0 win over Coventry City, where he said his captain “has a point to prove”.
That was taken as a part reference to something that had been said a lot to Odegaard last season, as he toiled for full fitness.
He was told to imagine what it would be like to lift one of the major trophies, to be front and centre of the pictures, and how he would want to have justified that by being influential; to offer those picture moments.
There were even times when Arteta felt the need to reassure him of his importance; to tell him “you’re my man”.
If a lot of this sounds extreme when players can do little about being injured, it is in part about psychology and confidence, to give them something to strive for.
There were moments when Odegaard is said to have needed that.
If an old-fashioned response to this is that you would want a more battle-hardened approach from your captain, the playmaker has always performed on a plane above that.
One of the reasons that Arteta has given him the armband is because of how Odegaard understands the manager’s tactical system better than any other attacker, and also because of how good he is at imparting that.
It’s one of the reasons that, without him, Arsenal are just so much less flowing and interconnected in attack.
Odegaard knits everything together. Everything else then revolves around him. He’s the player that leads the pressing, that pulls the first pressing trigger. When he goes, the rest of the attack follows. They know which space to occupy, so as to lock opposition in as they so often did to Napoli. This is obviously multiplied in effect when he also has Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz around him.
The stat about them Sunday’s win over Chelsea being only the fourth game they have played together since December 2024 barely needs to be repeated.
That’s another element that only emphasises this. Arsenal haven’t just missed the true Odegaard for one season but two. He has barely the same since the ankle injury he endured on international duty back in September 2024, repeatedly struggling with injuries since then.
There were moments when the playmaker deeply felt the frustration and was in anguish about it.
Or, at least, he was barely the same until the end of last season, and then the World Cup.
While no one would accuse a modern professional of saving themselves, it would be foolish to deny there isn’t some subconscious effect when you have a tournament that is so important to your country on the horizon.
It’s also why Arteta felt the need to reassert that message to Odegaard, to affirm his mindset.
In the end, Odegaard did have his big moment for that title photo. He might have only scored one goal but he was maybe central to Arsenal’s biggest of all, Leandro Trossard’s match-winner away to West Ham United.
In holding onto the ball to release the winger, Odegaard displayed the presence of mind that Arsenal had been missing.
The goal essentially meant winning the league, but you could also see it meant something more to the captain. While everyone else jumped around in delight, Odegaard was the only one that sank to his knees, clenching his fists.
That was the picture, that made the trophy lift all the more satisfying. Odegaard then carried that into the World Cup, giving his country the campaign they needed from their captain.
He was content, too, as was seen in other memorable images like handing the Viking drum over to Erling Haaland.
Arsenal are now finally feeling the benefit of that. Odegaard is described by those who know him as “a confidence player”. When he’s on it, he’s really on it.
“Last year, to have two shoulder injuries like he did, to have an MCL injury like he did, is tough for any player,” Declan Rice said. “But you see him at the World Cup and how he started this year…
“That’s the Martin we know and we love.”
This may even have some effect with returning from injury since a part of it is just how he feels. If Odegaard is purring, he’s less likely to feel any residual pain.
The same figures say they now see someone who is fully engaged, who has that appetite and motivation. It can be witnessed in a greater directness, that willingness to shoot.
“He’s got that edge,” Arteta said. “And now he can start to occupy some very different heights in the team, especially in the attacking phase.
“He’s getting into these positions much more in recent games and I feel he has this emotional state that he knows that the ball can go in and he is playing an incredible football match.”
A bit like that match against West Ham, there was a sense of a player who was willing to take on that greater responsibility. Arsenal couldn’t finish, wasting multiple chances he’d set up, so he just went and did it.
“That’s what we need,” Arteta continued, “the players with that mindset to decide the game and to play with that personality that an action might not happen, that it’s the next next one, the next one… and keep insisting and keep taking chances and risks.”
Arsenal certainly missed that last season. But how often was it said?
Now, what’s being said a lot is that Odegaard has scored. It’s already four goals to last season’s one, with his influence only emphasised by the range of strikes. So far, there have been two coordinated team moves – with two very different finishes – an opportunistic strike against Coventry City, and then Wednesday’s individual moment of quality.
The key will be keeping him doing that. It is instructive that Arsenal have made huge changes to their medical and performance teams.
As one source says: “In a game of small margins, the biggest difference is availability”.
Arsenal really felt that last season, particularly with their captain. Right now, he’s more than available. He’s making everything happen, and winning big games.
