The promotion to captain has seen a new side to Martin Odegaard for Arsenal, with the 23-year-old showing everything demanded by Mikel Arteta in his young-looking side.
The Norway attacker was announced as the captain over the summer and has already taken the role on with great enthusiasm, and his form has matched his promotion. In the six matches so far this season, he has scored three goals, nearly half of last season's total already, and has shown some extremely unselfish play to help out his teammates in moves.
Arteta had already sounded out his new captain last season before the appointment was made, citing the experience for Norway as a reason why he would go on to be the leader for his club side. As a breakout star at a young age, Odegaard has used these experiences to become a role model for young players at the club and across Europe.
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So much so that he is one of the biggest models for Bayern Munich's own midfield star. Gabriel Vidovic, who is only 18 himself, looks up to Odegaard as someone to learn from despite no overlap in their playing career. The young midfielder, who is currently on loan at Vitesse Arnhem after scoring 21 goals and getting 10 assists in 31 games in the German fourth division aged 17 last year, is at a club in Holland that has helped London rivals Chelsea produce their own homegrown stars.
Mason Mount spent a season in the Netherlands, as did Odegaard too. The pair played against each other in the Eredivisie, with the Arsenal star playing for SC Heerenveen at the time, and Vidovic has both the England international and Odegaard as common idols. He said, "Those are shining examples for me. You know I admire them, but I absolutely do not want to compare myself with them.
"They play at the highest level – in the Champions League and the Premier League. They are international stars," Vidovic told De Gerderlander.
The Croatian U21 international is one of the brightest players at Bayern Munich right now, and with Odegaard, who has come through at the age of 15 before having his career stalled and now revived at Arsenal, he has a great mentor should they ever cross paths.
It's a factor that Arteta loves about his new leader, saying, "He is the national team captain. He is one of the senior players here, for sure, even at his age, and it comes very natural to him.'
"He's showing that every single week. He's phenomenal to work with. He's developing areas of his game that we discussed, that he agreed and that we believed could help him impact matches in a much more powerful way. His whole mindset, the way he prepares himself, the way he treats people, the way he plays the game, is just exactly what we want from an Arsenal player."
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