Martin Odegaard has enjoyed an incredible four-and-a-half years with us, both on and off the pitch.
Our Norwegian captain joined us in January 2021 on loan from Real Madrid, before making the switch permanent in the summer of 2021.
As he stands on the brink of his 200th appearance in Arsenal red, we examine his top moments from his time in N5.
Off the mark
March 11, 2021
Olympiakos 1-3 Arsenal
After joining us in the January 2021 transfer window, Martin was thrust into the starting XI as we looked to progress through the Europa League knockout rounds.
Facing Olympiakos in the round of 16 first leg, the Norwegian made a massive impact, thundering a 25-yard effort beyond Jose Sa to give us an early lead in Athens. We would go on to win the contest 3-1 thanks to goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny.
NLD GOALSCORER
March 14, 2021
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Three days after netting his first goal for us, Martin was on target yet again as he helped us claim the north London bragging rights.
After falling behind to an Erik Lamela effort, Odegaard got us back on level terms as his first-time finish found the bottom corner, beating Hugo Lloris.
Alexandre Lacazette's second-half penalty completed the comeback in a big victory in N5, as Martin tasted the first of many joyous derby days.
CAPTAIN CALL-UP
July 30, 2022
Having taken the armband on several occasions at the end of the 2021/22 season, Martin was officially named our club captain in July 2022.
Already the leader of his national team, Norway, Odegaard has gone on to skipper us in four seasons. On the opening day of the 2025/26 campaign against Manchester United, Martin picked up his 71st Premier League victory as our captain, tying with Patrick Vieira for the number of wins and leaving only Tony Adams in front of him.
During his time as captain, Martin has helped us to three second-place finishes, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2024/25.
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South Coast DOUBLE
August 20, 2022
Bournemouth 0-3 Arsenal
Martin's reign as captain got off to the perfect start as we downed Crystal Palace 2-0 on the opening day before defeating Leicester City 4-2 at Emirates Stadium.
In our third game of 2022/23, Martin showed his class with two quick-fire goals to put us 2-0 up against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
William Saliba's stunning effort made it 3-0 on an excellent afternoon on the south coast.
Inch-perfect assist
December 31, 2022
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-4 Arsenal
After a stunning display against Wolves before the World Cup 2022 break, we returned to action with a victory over West Ham United on Boxing Day before heading to Brighton & Hove Albion on New Year's Eve 2022.
Martin delivered an imperious display, netting in the first half before producing a sensational assist for Gabriel Martinelli.
Our captain delivered a first-time pass from our half to set Gabi through on goal, and the Brazilian made no mistake to score our fourth goal of the night.
HISTORY MAKER
January 15, 2023
Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Arsenal
In January 2023, we headed across north London looking for a first victory at Tottenham since 2015, and it was our captain who inspired us to victory.
An own goal silenced the home crowd before Martin drilled home our second of the game from range to send our travelling support into raptures.
The result set off a run of three wins in a row at the home of our nearest rivals for the first time in Premier League history.
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Identical BLUES brace
May 2, 2023
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
A first-time finish on the edge of the penalty box was becoming a trademark of Martin's, and he showed that off in our comfortable 3-1 victory over Chelsea in May 2023.
Odegaard latched onto Granit Xhaka's pass to hammer his effort home off the crossbar to open the scoring. Just 13 minutes later, the pair combined again for an almost identical goal as Granit found Martin, hitting the ball on the bounce past future teammate Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0 before half-time with Noni Madueke pulling a goal back for Chelsea, but the night belonged to Martin.
UNLOCKING THE DEFENCE
March 12, 2024
Arsenal 1-0 Porto (4-2 pens)
After losing 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Porto, the pressure was on for the second leg as we looked to reach the quarter-finals of the UCL for the first time in 14 years.
The Portuguese side had been stubborn defensively and we were finding it tough to get in behind them, until up stepped Martin who provided an exquisite assist for Leandro Trossard to open the scoring on the night and level the contest on aggregate.
The game went all the way to penalties, where Odegaard slotted home the first penalty of the night as David Raya saved two spot kicks to help us win on a special evening in N5.
Assist king
April 23, 2024
Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea
Martin's form continued to sparkle in 2023/24 as we showed no mercy in a 5-0 demolition of Chelsea at Emirates Stadium.
The skipper's first assist came from inside his own half as he found Kai Havertz with precision, before the German held off Marc Cucurella to fire home.
Our captain then chipped the ball over the Chelsea defence and found Ben White, who volleyed in his second of the evening to give our skipper a brace of assists.
Back-to-back
June 7, 2024
Martin set the benchmark in standards for two successive seasons, to become just the fifth player in our history to rretain our men's Player of the Season award, following in the legendary footsteps of Liam Brady, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry and Saka
After taking on the captaincy in 2022, he picked up his first award in 22/23 after scoring 15 Premier League goals and laying on seven assists.
A campaign on and our captain was voted by our fans as our best performer, after he smashed in 11 goals and provided 12 assists to cap off a memorable season in red.
Champions League run
Martin helps make history
After missing the first three matches of our Champions League campaign, Martin returned from injury to captain the team to a first semi-final in the competition since 2009.
On our run to the final four, our captain netted three times, including two in a 7-1 demolition of PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16.
The Norwegian led us out in both victories over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals and did so again versus PSG in the semi-finals.
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