“I didn’t have to think about it at all” – Gary Neville names Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard as the best Premier League player this season
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has named Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard as the Premier League’s Player of the Season for 2023-24. His comments come in the wake of Arsenal mounting a serious challenge for the title as they push Manchester City to the final day.
Gary Neville picks Martin Odegaard for POTS
Appearing on the popular football analysis show Monday Night Football on Sky Sports alongside Jamie Carragher, Neville delivered his verdict on Odegaard’s performance. He stated multiple reasons as to why the midfielder deserves to be in the reckoning for Player of the Season.
He started by highlighting the Norwegian’s importance to the Gunners’ playing style, saying,
“I didn’t have to think about it at all, I think every game I’ve watched of Arsenal, he’s a beautiful player & he knits everything together.
“For me, that is an absolute unbelievable football player, the best player in the league that I’ve seen this season on a regular basis, the person that takes the ball on the half-turn, tries to play the balls through, the right type of passes.”
However, Gary Neville also made a good point about Arsenal’s lack of a proven striker. He believes Odegaard would help said player thrive if the club manages to recruit someone of a high calibre.
“If he had a striker that made those darting runs, like an Agüero or that type, honestly, the amount of chances he creates is unbelievable. If he stays at this level – unbelievable.”
Martin Odegaard’s importance in Mikel Arteta’s current team has only gone from strength to strength as the Spaniard continues to build his team around his captain.
Odegaard’s season in numbers
Martin Odegaard has played nearly 4,000 minutes for the Gunners in 47 games across competitions this season. He has scored 11 goals and provided nine assists so far. Out of those, eight goals and eight assists have come in 34 Premier League games, with two goals and one assist in nine Champions League matches.
In contrast, he appeared in 45 matches last season but had a slightly better output in front of goal as Arsenal played more fearlessly. In 2022-23, Odegaard scored 15 goals and provided seven assists. He will need two or more goal contributions in the Gunners’ final-day clash against Everton should he wish to surpass that tally.
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