Martin Odegaard and Mikel Arteta share a fantastic relationship at Arsenal.
The Norway international was struggling for his future at Real Madrid in 2021, and it was clear that he was not going to play much under Zinedine Zidane there.
Arteta pushed Arsenal to sign the midfielder then, initially on loan, and that move was made permanent in the following summer.
Odegaard was named as the Arsenal captain soon after by Arteta, but the 27-year-old thinks another manager was better than his own boss in 2025 – Luis Enrique.
Order these coaches from best to worst: Mikel Arteta, Hansi Flick and Luis Enrique…
Martin Odegaard votes for Luis Enrique over Mikel Arteta for FIFA’s Best Men’s Coach award
The winners of FIFA’s The Best Awards were revealed this week.
The Gunners have had a decent year. Mikel Arteta’s side finished runners-up in the Premier League and made it into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
If it weren’t for injuries, there is a chance that the Spaniard would’ve gone all the way in both competitions, but it wasn’t meant to be.
One manager who did win his domestic league and the Champions League was Enrique with Paris Saint-Germain.
Martin Odegaard, who faced PSG in the semi-finals last season, seems to have been impressed, so much so that he voted for Enrique to win the Best Men’s Coach award.
The Arsenal captain’s second pick was Arteta, while Barcelona’s Hansi Flick was voted third.
Luis Enrique could’ve been Arsenal’s manager
Before Enrique joined PSG, he was of interest to Arsenal.
Back in 2018, when Arsene Wenger announced that he was going to leave the Gunners after 22 years, the Kroenkes began looking for his successor.
Unai Emery got the job in the end, but Enrique was high on Arsenal’s wish list.
If you could go back in time and choose a different manager to replace Arsene Wenger in 2018, who would it be and why?
Unai Emery was a disaster!
The Independent revealed at the time that the North Londoners initiated contact with the Spaniard to enquire whether he would be interested in Wenger’s job.
However, Enrique reportedly demanded a huge salary, almost on par with what Wenger was earning. That was probably why he wasn’t appointed.
Looking back, we’re sure the Arsenal owners must regret their decision.
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