Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit disagrees with Jamie Redknapp's claim that Martin Odegaard is better than Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne this season. The Norwegian playmaker picked up the Player of the Year honour at the London Football Awards earlier this month following a brilliant campaign so far with the Gunners.
Odegaard was named as club captain at the start of this season as he aims to lift Arsenal's first Premier League title since 2004 at the end of this season. The 24-year-old playmaker has scored 10 goals and provided a further seven assists in 35 appearances so far this term as he continue to develop into one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Following the 3-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Redknapp labelled Odegaard as the best creative midfielder in the Premier League, surpassing De Bruyne at City. The Belgian midfielder has been widely regarded as the best midfielder in the English top-flight for a number of years, but Arsenal's captain has arguably been the more influential player this term.
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Speaking to Sky Sports after the win against Fulham, Redknapp said: "Right now he’s number one, there’s nobody [better].
"Normally we would say Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfield player, not just in the Premier League but the world, but something isn’t quite right. He isn’t playing as many games as he’d like.
"But Odegaard does this thing where – all great players possess it – it’s like time stands still when he has the ball. Most players [would rush the shot], especially midfield players as we’re not used to getting in those situations.
"But the calmness that he possesses, he’s scored four or five goals like that with that left foot. He’s the captain, he’s the leader.
"Yeah, for me he’s number one [in the Premier League]. And he’s leading that team."
Gunners legend Petit believes that De Bruyne is still the better player compared to Odegaard, despite the 24-year-old's development this season. Petit told wettfreunde: “Odegaard is definitely on the right track.
"This season alone he is appearing more and more mature, he has also become more consistent in his performances. He is irreplaceable in this team.
"I still see Kevin De Bruyne ahead in terms of experience and robustness," Petit added. The Belgium international has scored six goals - four less than Odegaard this season - and provided 21 assists in all competitions, three times the amount the Norwegian has been able to provide.
Should Odegaard go on to lift the Premier League trophy this season, it would back up claims that he has been the better player compared to De Bruyne this season. The 24-year-old would have to consistently perform at his current level, if not a higher one, for a number of years to be ranked in a similar bracket as De Bruyne who will surely go down as one of the all-time greats in Premier League history.
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