Could Martin Ødegaard be better than Mesüt Özil? He’s growing into a great midfielder at Arsenal

In 2013, Arsenal enjoyed a record-breaking transfer when they acquired star Mesut Özil from Real Madrid. The German midfielder spent 8 years in the cannon jersey, but had to leave after problems with coach Mikel Arteta. Arsenal found a replacement in the midfielder from Real Madrid again.

We are talking about a talented Norwegian midfielder named Martin Ødegaard. He is currently 23 years old, but he oozes enormous talent. At the age of 15, he became the youngest player and goalscorer in the Norwegian top league, he also became the youngest Norwegian international.

With great expectations, he was soon bought by Real Madrid. However, the young Norwegian was never able to settle permanently in the Spanish giant’s jersey. He began to wander around on loan. This lasted from 2015 until 2021, when he found himself on loan at Arsenal.

In January 2021, Arsenal parted ways with their huge star, Mesut Özil, who had a falling out with head coach Mikel Arteta. So after a fine career in London, the German had to leave, finding his new destination in Turkey.

Arsenal thus freed up a large amount of funds, but also lost an important player who could create the game. Ødegaard was the man to fill that void. He managed to settle in at Arsenal and in the summer of 2021, the guest appearance turned into a permanent transfer for €35 million.

Looking at the price tag, Arsenal can now say that they won this transfer because Ødegaard started to show his full potential this season, which no one saw at Real Madrid.

He has become a very important player for Arsenal. He can play in position 8 and 10. He has a great overview of the game, he can come up with great through passes, he carries the play beautifully, he can recognise how his teammates move. He is very similar to Özil in many aspects of his game.

However, in many aspects he even surpasses this player. Özil did not have the habit of attacking too actively or going back into defence to support his teammates. Ødegaard does this differently. He is very predatory, active and aggressive. He is not afraid to attack and fight.

Ødegaard still needs some time to reach the top quality that Özil showed. However, he could match the star German midfielder in the future. However, we can now say that he is a much more valid player for Arsenal as he contributes much more to the team game.

Under Arsene Wenger, Özil was an indispensable member of the team. In his prime, he was one of the best midfielders in the world. However, after the arrival of Arteta, he didn’t fit into the system and had to leave. However, Arsenal managed to replace his qualities very quickly.

Source: Arsenal