Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp believes Martin Odegaard has surpassed Kevin De Bruyne to become the best Premier League player in his position.
Arsenal captain Odegaard put in another impressive performance on Sunday as the Gunners won at Fulham to preserve their five-point lead at the top of the table. De Bruyne's Manchester City side had briefly brought the gap back down to two with their victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.
Odegaard was on target at Craven Cottage, scoring Arsenal's third and reaching double figures for league goals for the first time in his career. Redknapp was on Sky Sports duty for the game, and sung the Norwegian's praises.
"Right now he’s number one. There’s nobody [better]," Redknapp said of the former Real Madrid man. "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."
Odegaard's goal came on the stroke of half-time, and followed earlier efforts from Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli. The game also brought a return for Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus, who had been unavailable since picking up an injury at the World Cup.
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“Huge," Arteta said of the former Manchester City man returning to the fold. "His presence, what he transmits to the team, the experience he already has in these types of games… He’s a huge player for us.
“He has changed our dynamic, he has changed our belief, he has put the team in a different status, so it is great to have him back.”
In Jesus' absence, January signing Leandro Trossard started up front and won praise from the manager. "It's football intelligence, he’s really clever to understand straightaway what you want, what is required, what is his role and he’s executing it really well," Arteta told club media.
Arsenal will be back in action on Thursday, when they host Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 meeting. The two teams drew 2-2 in Portugal in the first leg, with William Saliba putting the Gunners in front and a Hidemasu Morita own goal drawing them level after Sporting struck either side of the half-time break.
