Martin Odegaard was welcomed back to Arsenal with an X-rated quip from teammate Kieran Tierney over the bumper contract he signed last summer.
The Gunners stumped up £30million to sign the Norwegian playmaker from Real Madrid permanently after loaning him for the second half of the previous season. Odegaard did enough during his temporary stint at the Emirates to convince Mikel Arteta of his quality and has since established himself as a mainstay in the starting XI.
Not only that, the 23-year-old has also been handed the captain's armband, succeeding the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette as skipper. Odegaard is a popular figure in the dressing room and Tierney could not help but poke fun at his rumoured wages as he welcomed the midfielder back to North London.
Odegaard is believed to earn £85,000 per week after signing a four-year contract with Arsenal, who have the option to extend his stay for another year. His first moments back at the Gunners' London Colney headquarters last summer were captured as part of Prime Video's upcoming 'All or Nothing: Arsenal' series - which launches on Thursday - and one clip shows Tierney in the treatment room reuniting with his colleague.
The Scotland left-back said: "Happy to be back, bro? I heard what wages you were getting, so I thought, 'f***ing hell!'." While Odegaard's payslip is certainly sizeable, Arsenal chiefs will be happy with his output in his first full season with the club.
The former Los Blancos wonderkid scored seven goals and chipped in with four assists in 36 appearances in the Premier League, starting 32 of those games. Odegaard has also caught the eye in pre-season and pulled the strings from the No. 10 berth as the Gunners hit Sevilla for six on Saturday.
Is Martin Odegaard the right choice to be Arsenal captain at the tender age of 23? Have your say in the comments!
The Emirates Cup clash was his first game since being officially unveiled as Arsenal's new captain, following Lacazette's summer return to Lyon at the expiry of his contract. "Yeah, not a bad start! So that's good," Odegaard said of the thumping victory over Sevilla. "Of course, it's a big moment for me and I'm very proud to be captain of this fantastic football club. Yeah, a big day for me."
He also looked ahead to Friday night's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace, adding: "Finally! We've been waiting for that one for a while. We are looking forward to starting again, it's always nice to get back to playing important games again, so it's going to be nice and hopefully we can get a good start."
All or Nothing: Arsenal launches on Prime Video on Thursday 4 th August, with new episodes weekly
