Since taking charge of Arsenal in December 2019, Mikel Arteta has got a lot of things right.
He's turned a side that couldn't buy a win against the Premier League's top sides into one who rarely loses to them.
On top of that, he's dragged them from mid-table mediocrity to perennial title challengers and a force in the Champions League.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta looks dejected after the match
Finally, he's also overseen an improvement in how the club operates in the transfer market, and welcomed in several brilliant signings, like Declan Rice, Gabriel Mahalese, David Raya and Martin Odegaard.
The latter is now the club's captain, and if reports are to be believed, they might be about to sign someone who could be the next Odegaard.
Jorginho-Odegaard-Arsenal
Arsenal's transfer window so far
It would be fair to say that this summer started rather slowly for Arsenal, but things have most certainly sped up in the last few weeks or so.
Kepa Arrizabalaga's £5m move from Chelsea was the first to be officially announced by the club, which was then followed by Martin Zubimendi's long-awaited £60m move from Real Sociedad.
Not long after that, Christian Norhgaard was unveiled following his £15m move from Brentford, and perhaps most controversial of all, Noni Madueke appears to be the next announcement in line.
Chelsea-Madueke
The Blues ace appears to be joining the Gunners for a fee of around £52m, and it would be fair to say it's not a move that has been met with universal enthusiasm.
Fortunately, Andrea Berta and Co seem to still be hard at work, and now reports indicate they could land someone who'd be welcomed by all with open arms: Rodrygo.
Yes, according to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal remain very much interested in the Real Madrid star.
The report claims that Los Blancos are open to letting the Brazilian leave this summer and that the Gunners are currently in pole position to secure his services.
Real-Madrid-Rodrygo
However, it'll cost a pretty penny to do so, as the European giants are after a fee in the region of €100m, which is about £87m.
It will be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but Rodrygo would be more than worth it, especially as he could be Odegaard 2.0.
Why Rodrygo would be Odegaard 2.0
So, the first thing to say is, yes, for the most part, Rodrygo and Odegaard play in different positions and in different ways, but that isn't necessarily what this comparison is about.
rodrygo-arsenal-real-madrid
Instead, the move itself, the background and potential impact are what make the Brazilian a potential repeat of the Norwegian.
For example, they'll both be making their way to Arsenal from Real Madrid, and at similar ages.
Moreover, just as the Gunners' captain wasn't getting a look in prior to his move, the former Santos gem has been essentially frozen out by the Spanish giants' first team.
For example, across the five games Los Blancos played at the Club World Cup, the 24-year-old didn't start a single one, and played just 92 minutes.
rodrygo-real-madrid
Finally, despite the lack of game time he's been getting of late, the dynamic winger is still an incredible talent and someone who could have as much of an impact as Odegaard has had at the Emirates.
After all, since the start of the 23/24 campaign, the "world-class superstar," as dubbed by Luka Modrić, has scored 31 goals and provided 20 assists in 105 appearances, totalling 7159 minutes.
Rodrygo's recent record
Season
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Minutes per Goal Involvement
All Stats via Transfermarkt
That works out to a goal involvement every 2.05 games, or every 140.37 minutes, which is made all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that he was played out of his preferred left-wing position for most of that period.
Finally, on top of everything else, there are also some statistical similarities between the pair, with FBref ranking the Gunners' number eight as the most similar midfielder to the Real ace in Europe's top five leagues across the last 365 days.
odegaard-arsenal-champions-league-calafiori
Ultimately, Arsenal are in need of more attacking talent this summer, and they are going to be hard-pressed to find a more exciting option than Rodrygo.
Therefore, they should be doing all they can to sign him, as he could end up being as effective, or more effective, for them than Odegaard.
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He would be unreal for Arsenal.