Premier League Player of the Week: An Ode to Martin Odegaard
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 06: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates with teammate Declan Rice of Arsenal after the Premier League 2026/27 match between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium on September 06, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Evolution often comes without losing the essence of what has made you great.
After a 2-1 win against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal fans were reminded of that fact by the brilliance of captain Martin Odegaard, who has started the season brimming with self-belief.
It was a timely triumphant moment after the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams earlier in the week.
Champions under a new kind of pressure
The Gunners begin a campaign as title holders for the first time since 2004, something the Emirates Stadium has never witnessed. That pressure is a privilege, but it also comes with a different kind of scrutiny sourced from the expectation that the club would try and kick on to even greater heights.
They did strengthen the spine of their side, bringing in two Premier League proven senior options Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes. But the desire for an elite attacker was not fulfilled.
Although Christos Tzolis looks like a smart pickup from Club Brugge, his struggles against Aston Villa indicated he is not a one stop shop solution on the left wing. To then see Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard sold, while Ethan Nwaneri went on loan, created more bemusement: quality and quantity could now be a problem in what was already deemed the team’s weakest area of the field.
However, there are internal solutions to some of the problems that have persisted in the last two years.
Against Coventry City, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Odegaard started a Premier League game together for only the second time since December 2024. Old relationships are being restored, and the confidence within the camp is being epitomised by their leader, who set the tone against the Blues.
·The performance
Ironically, Morgan Rogers opened the scoring, stunning the hosts after 77 seconds with a volley. The attacker was heavily touted to play for the champions after moving away from Aston Villa, and his strike could have left fans fuming with the failure to buy him in the summer. But Arsenal retaliated.
Odegaard was immediately in on the action. His cleverly low driven delivery from a free kick met the path of Riccardo Calafiori, who swung at thin air and failed to test Emiliano Martinez in the goal.
In open play, he serves as a constantly probing presence that falls back on the familiarity of three teammates being in his orbit. Ben White flies forward on the overlap, Saka starts outside and shifts infield with his strength of carrying and movement, and Havertz helps keep the game moving.
The hosts knew that they could concentrate their efforts on this side of the pitch, targeting the uncertainties of Jorrel Hato, and they reaped the rewards. A pass from Odegaard to Saka drew a foul from Hato that led to the disallowed goal for Calafiori from a second free kick, then Odegaard pulled off one of his classic scoop passes to release Saka, whose firm strike was parried by Martinez.
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Havertz would eventually equalise with a shot from the top of the box on the right side, and the Gunners were purring. Odegaard continued to pull the strings, delightfully dinking a chip into the direction of the box-crashing Calafiori, whose sideways header could not find a red and white shirt.
The goal that settled it
The captain was not playing with the doubt that can creep into his game, and he decided the clash through a carbon copy of the goal he grabbed against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Tzolis picked up the ball on the left flank, Calafiori charged forward on the underlap, and Odegaard arrived in the final third on the shoulder of Havertz. His teammate cheekily dummied over the ball, and the captain coolly slotted an effort into the back of the net. It is his second Premier League goal of the season, and third in all competitions, already a tally two more than his total from last season.
The Blues were on the backfoot, struggling to get back into the match. While they were reduced to trying to spring the hosts on the counter, the hosts were firmly in control, and Odegaard’s cute pass through the legs of Malo Gusto could have assisted Martin Zubimendi if he got off a strike quicker.
Odegaard ended his afternoon with a tight piece of control to flip the ball over Reece James and win another foul. It is the type of act that suggests that he feels more comfortable with his body after a series of injuries, and he left the field to warm applause from the spectators in North London.
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What it means for Arteta's attack
When this team’s best technicians are fit and firing, the attack can contribute so much more. Arsenal enjoyed a 91-goal campaign in 2023/24 compared to just 68 the next year and 71 in their title winning season. A star attacker will still be craved by sections of the support, but the best football produced from the Mikel Arteta era has unsurprisingly coincided with the finest form of their club captain.
If Odegaard is starting like he means to go on, the rest of the Premier League should be fearful.