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<\/p>\nMARTIN ODEGAARD never doubted he had the ability to live up to all the hype that surrounded him as a kid.<\/p>\n
The problem was that he could never find a manager who shared that belief\u2026 until he met Mikel Arteta.<\/p>\n
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But from the moment the two tactical obsessives first met it was a match made in football heaven.<\/p>\n
And less than three years later Odegaard is already a shortlisted contender for the Ballon d\u2019Or and dreaming of winning the Champions League and Premier League.<\/p>\n
No wonder the 24-year-old nomadic Norwegian was so keen to extend his Arsenal contract to 2028 – which has now been confirmed.<\/p>\n
But it is all a far cry from the ordeal of being dismissed as \u201ca publicity stunt\u201d by Carlo Ancelotti after signing for Real Madrid at just 16 years old and spending the next four seasons being shipped out on loan.<\/p>\n
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As he reflects on that turbulent time, Odegaard admits: \u201cIt was difficult at Madrid because I was very young and I was stuck between the first and second teams there.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I was moving around here and there on loans between Heerenveen, Vitesse, Sociedad and Arsenal. So I never really got the time to settle down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t doubt myself but there were moments when I lost my confidence a little bit and then you don\u2019t perform as you want to because you\u2019re not in your best place.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I always kept that self-belief and I was always sure that I was going to turn things around.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou have to be good at focusing too much on the outside world, to keep working hard and doing your thing.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course there were some moments of disappointment, but I was always pretty calm and from the first time I spoke with Mikel Arteta I knew he was a great coach and that I wanted to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Odegaard initially joined Arsenal on loan in January 2021 before completing a \u00a334million\u00a0permanent move the following summer.<\/p>\n And his relationship with Arteta has gone from strength to strength after being handed the Arsenal captain\u2019s armband.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cThe boss has been a massive, massive help. He\u2019s amazing. I\u2019m still learning new things every day in training.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way he sees football is so smart. He sees so many details you don\u2019t even think about, but the way he explains it all makes sense.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is capable of making you understand football in a\u00a0 different way and it\u2019s nice for any player to feel that from his manager.\u201d<\/p>\n Arteta recently claimed that his team changes formation up to 40 times in every game but Odegaard laughs when he says: \u201cIt\u2019s not too crazy for us because I think a lot of that is in his head.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t tell us everything he is thinking about before a game. He will always tell us a lot of things that could happen in the game, but\u00a0 he is good at keeping it short and precise and making everyone understand what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n The way he sees football is so smart. He sees so many details you don\u2019t even think about, but the way he explains it all makes sense.<\/p>\n Odegaard\u2019s decision to commit his long-term future to Arsenal comes after team-mates Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, Reiss Nelson and William Saliba all signed lengthy new contracts in the past year.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cYou see the players around you wanting to be a part of the project and it shows that what we\u2019re doing is really special.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is connected and we all want the same things. We want to stay for a long time to fight for the club and win things together.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith so many hungry young players, I\u2019m sure we\u2019re just going to get better and better. And it\u2019s a no-brainer to want to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Having pushed Manchester City harder than anyone could ever have imagined during last season\u2019s Premier League title race, the challenge now for Odegaard and his Arsenal team-mates is to take the club from challengers to champions.<\/p>\n He admits: \u201cIt\u2019s natural for expectations to rise if you perform well, but the whole team enjoys that pressure because we want to be there at the top, fighting to win things.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a bigger squad with more depth and the ability to play in different ways. I\u2019m very confident in what we\u2019re doing<\/p>\n \u201cEven though we\u2019re a young team, you can see the quality we have and the responsibility everyone is willing to take.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMikel is very clear with his ideas and what he wants, but at the same time he gives us the freedom to execute what he wants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took a lot of penalties in pre-season and I scored all of mine, so when we were awarded one in our first away game at Crystal Palace I asked Bukayo (Saka) if I could take it and he said \u2018yeah, if you feel good\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt shows the leadership and personality within the team, because in the next game against Fulham, Bukayo scored the penalty because he felt confident. It was a natural thing for us, not a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Odegaard finished last season as Arsenal\u2019s joint top scorer with 15 Premier League goals and has already netted four times for club and country this time, including in the Champions League win over PSV.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cI have always scored a lot of goals since I was young, but 15 is a great number for a midfielder.<\/p>\n \u201cBut even last season I missed a lot of big chances and could have scored a lot more so there is still a lot of room for improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a natural thing for me to arrive late in the penalty-area and that can be very hard for opponents to defend again, but I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll see me attacking the box and scoring a header too many times.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have a target for the number of goals I scored but with the quality we have up front and on the wings, we\u2019re going to create a lot of chances.\u201d<\/p>\n Odegaard\u2019s very first goal for Arsenal came in a 2-1 win against Spurs in March 2021 and another in Sunday\u2019s North London derby would be the perfect way to celebrate his new contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n He says: \u201cSpurs is the big one. I knew from my first day here that game is something special.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can feel it in the training ground, on social media and from the fans. It\u2019s a game we all look forward to playing and winning.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/2018-premier-leagues-broadcast-deal-426607226.jpg\")
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