A perfectly precise strike, tearing open Napoli’s defence from outside the box, after the Napoli back line had somehow held firm against the European runners-up until the 74th minute. Then Martin Ødegaard arrived at the Maradona, with his drive, his talent, his ability to read the moments of a match. He wears the number 8, the classic number for a midfielder, but it is as though several others have been stitched into his shirt as well: he could easily wear a 6 as a deep-lying playmaker, a 7 as a creator, an 11 as an attacking winger. And when the moment calls for it, he has the touch of a true 10.
Roll the tape back a few minutes, to when the Norwegian starts causing havoc in the final third. He dribbles, wriggles through, nobody can get near him and every opponent is left scrambling in his wake. It looks as though he has missed the moment to shoot, that there is no room for a cross, and just when he has convinced even those watching that he has run himself into a trap, Martin clips a delicious ball with his left foot, releasing a teammate in the six-yard box. The move soon comes to nothing, but the touch lingers – especially with that foot, with that delicacy, in that stadium. Perhaps it is even more beautiful than the goal that gives Arsenal all three points, which is beautiful in its own right:
And now the Gunners can enjoy their captain. Smiling, explosive, self-assured. Revitalised psychologically, too, by a historic World Cup in which he played a leading role for Norway: with his 28th birthday approaching, Ødegaard has finally found his place in elite football. And it is no small place, despite the criticism that has followed him season after season. Because if you look at the bare numbers, the boy does appear to have lost his way: 15 goals in 2023, 11 in 2024, then six and just one last season. An exponential decline, laying bare Martin’s lack of composure in front of goal – this has been a recurring theme – and his tendency to display a talent as pure as it is frustratingly unproductive. It was already a familiar criticism during his difficult spell at Real Madrid, which lasted until 2021.
And yet Arsenal have grown over those same seasons, and Ødegaard has become captain of a side that went on to win the Premier League and came within a penalty of adding the Champions League: brain and engine in one, hugely valued by Arteta himself, who before becoming a coach had been a midfielder like him, in the same shirt, wearing the same number. “In the last few months, it has to be said that Martin missed a lot of games through injury,” the Gunners’ manager said after the win away to Napoli. “Now he feels more comfortable with certain team mechanisms. He can play at different levels of the pitch, pushing the team higher, especially in the attacking phase. And when he finds himself in this position, he becomes a really dangerous player. Someone who can unsettle opponents.”
A free role that seems tailor-made for Ødegaard. At the start of this season he has already scored four goals in five matches in all competitions: the change in his numbers is only the most obvious sign of a much broader transformation. Perhaps it took him a while to find his space and his timing at this level. But now he is there, enjoying himself and setting the tempo. Compared with last season, he shoots more, touches the ball more often in the penalty area, creates more chances and completes almost twice as many passes in the final third – the most dangerous ones. In short, he has taken a leap forward across the board. The critics have disappeared, leaving only the words of those who never doubted him: “Martin is a really good player,” Erling Haaland said, prophetically, several years ago. “He is bringing out his true potential, showing the world what he is capable of.” And that was only the beginning.