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Odegaard already knew Arteta was special after one meeting
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has heaped praises on the Gunners’ manager Mikel Arteta and spoken about the first time he met the Spanish gaffer and was awestruck by him.
Odegaard reveals details of first meeting with Arteta
Odegaard has been at Arsenal since January 2021 and credits Arteta with convincing him to make the switch from Real Madrid to North London.
Speaking with the Player’s Tribune, Odegaard remembered his initial meeting with Arteta over a zoom call, suggesting that it was virtually impossible for “anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you.”
He spoke further about Arteta’s character saying, “He is next level. It's hard to explain. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy … but when he speaks, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen.”
According to the 24-year-old Norweigian, he was immediately smitten by the prospect of joining Arsenal after one meeting and believed in Arteta’s plan for the team immediately as it felt special to him.
“He told me his plan, everything he was building towards. He knew exactly what needed to change at the club. He told me all about these amazing young players in the squad — Saka, Martinelli, Smith Rowe, etc., etc. He told me how he wanted me to fit in and how I was going to improve.
“I got this strong feeling that he was onto something really special.”
Odegaard and Arsenal on the verge of something special
It looks like everything Arteta told Odegaard would happen is finally unfolding, even though it did not always look like that would be the case.
Arsenal finished eighth in Odegaad’s first season with the club, and then followed that up by narrowly missing out on a place in the top four the next season.
Now they are top of the Premier League with a five-point gap separating them from the closest contenders Manchester City while being carried by the prodigious youngsters who Arteta used to convince Odegaard.
No Arsenal player has contributed directly to more goals than Bukayo Saka (14) this season in the league, while only Odegaard has scored more goals in the league than Gabriel Martinelli.
Odegaard, now the captain of the league leaders in one of the best leagues in the world and on the cusp of winning a first league title for Arsenal in his own lifetime, will be eternally grateful that he was so thorooughly charmed by Mikel Arteta.
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