Arsenal creator-in-chief Martin Odegaard hopes to make Tottenham sick of the sight of him
It says a lot about Martin Odegaard's powers of recovery that he spent the night before Arsenal's last visit to Tottenham being sick — but you would never have known it.
Less than 24 hours after he had been struck down by illness, Odegaard roused himself from his sickbed to score and lead the Gunners to their first win at Spurs in the Premier League since 2014.
The Arsenal captain will be hoping for more of the same on Sunday, albeit with a better night's sleep beforehand.
The Gunners head to Spurs top of the Premier League, and a victory would extend their lead over Manchester City to four points, even if only for a few hours before Pep Guardiola's side take on Nottingham Forest.
The title is in City's hands — they have a game in hand on Arsenal — but a win at Spurs would be a huge psychological boost for Mikel Arteta's side, and Odegaard heads into this north London derby in stunning form.
The Norwegian terrorised Chelsea on Tuesday on the way to a 5-0 win for the Gunners, creating eight chances from open play. It was the most Odegaard has ever produced in a Premier League game and no Arsenal player has matched that tally since Mesut Ozil against Everton seven years ago.
For so long, Kevin De Bruyne has been viewed as the best playmaker in the Premier League, but Odegaard can now rightfully be spoken of in the same breath. No player in Europe's top five leagues has created more chances from open play this season than Odegaard, who continues to make a mockery of the £30million fee Arsenal paid for him in 2021.
The 25-year-old's form is all the more impressive given his difficult start to the season. A hip injury and then a concussion hampered Odegaard, so much so he created just 16 chances in the first 10 league games.
Once fit, the Arsenal captain began to shine and in December he created 28 chances from just seven games.
Shaking off his fitness issues has helped Odegaard take the league by storm, helped by Arteta's tactical tweaks.
Kai Havertz has given Arsenal a focal point in attack since being played as a striker and Odegaard has benefited, bouncing off his movement and link-play. The decision to push Declan Rice forward has also helped Odegaard, with the England midfielder's athleticism and presence pulling defenders away to leave space for Arsenal's chief playmaker.
Odegaard has also been aided by his existing partnerships maturing. The left side of Arsenal's team has been in flux this season, but the right is settled — and it shows.
Bukayo Saka and Odegaard have a great understanding that allows them both to perform. They are close friends off the pitch as well, with their girlfriends watching Tuesday's win over Chelsea together in a box at Emirates Stadium.
Odegaard in numbers
78 No player in Europe's top five leagues has created more chances from open play than Odegaard this season.
35 The Norwegian has played the most through-balls of any player in Europe's top five leagues this season.
3 Across the last three Premier League seasons, he is the only player to score 30 goals, create 30 big chances and have a pass accuracy over 85 per cent.
Those at Arsenal are not surprised by Odegaard's form and believe it is just reward for the amount of work he puts in. The club captain is described as the "ultimate professional" and a "perfectionist" by those close to him.
The speed of his footwork, which is what makes him so lethal in the final third, is the result of hours of practice. Odegaard is a captain who leads by example and that is shown in training every day.
His powers of recovery, as displayed before last year's north London derby, have become famous. Part of that is down to his ability to play through pain (his ankle was heavily strapped for last week's defeat by Bayern Munich).
It is also down to Odegaard's mindset. He is diligent with his recovery and will prioritise the time for that over almost anything else. He does not live an extravagant lifestyle and those around him believe the relaxed nature of it allows him to recover quickly.
The hard work could all be about to pay off, with Odegaard possibly four games away from being the first Arsenal captain in 20 years to lift the Premier League trophy.
For a player who arrived on loan just three years ago, not knowing what the future would hold, it would be the culmination of a remarkable rise.
