Wherever the Premier League title ends up, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has enjoyed a sensational season and could be on course to secure one particularly impressive record.
The 24-year-old Norwegian has skippered the Gunners to their best league season for quite some time, though it seems as if they are still set to fall short in place of reigning champions Manchester City. That is hardly Odegaard's fault though, with the attacking midfielder more than playing his part for Mikel Arteta's men this season.
So much so in fact, Odegaard is one goal away from matching a Premier League record held by City star Kevin De Bruyne. Arsenal's mercurial talent needs to notch just once more to match the Belgian's feat of 15 non penalty goals in a single season, the most scored by a midfield player.
Odegaard sits on 14 goals for the season after his latest outing saw him notch a brace against Chelsea with two near-identical strikes. De Bruyne earned the record during the 2021/22 season, where his tally of 15 contributed to yet another title for Pep Guardiola's men.
The two players are often compared and while Odegaard still has some work to do to try and match De Bruyne's legacy, he's certainly heading in the right direction.
Earlier on this season, former Gunner Bacary Sagna likened Odegaard to two former Arsenal talents while praising the ex-Real Madrid man.
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"Martin Odegaard reminds me of Cesc Fabregas, he has the same quality, but Odegaard also has the technique of Robin van Persie," the Frenchman explained to Midnite.
"I love all the players. Martin Odegaard had so much expectation coming from the Real Madrid academy, no one expected them to do so well and have shown great maturity at a young age. They are strong on and off the pitch, the vibe in the squad is great."
Prior to Sagna's comments, Fabregas himself heaped praise on Odegaard and the way he has handled the weight of expectation as captain.
"I hope he will be crucial in a good way, because I like his style. I like his intelligence and how he moves to find these little pockets to make the difference. He's very tricky and a good eye for the ball," he told BT Sport in October.
"It's a lot of responsibility. He was 15 when he made his debut for Norway, he's the captain of Norway, now a very young captain for Arsenal. Not an easy task for him and he's responding very well.
"It reminds me a little bit of me when I took the armband at 21. It's not easy. It's a big, big club."
With Odegaard donning the armband, the future looks bright for Arsenal, especially if he can maintain this kind of form in front of goal.
