Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard played the full 90 minutes as Norway shocked Italy in Oslo on Friday night.
The playmaker starred for his nation as they took apart a dire Italian side, cruising past Luciano Spalletti’s team 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier.
Alexander Sorloth gave the hosts the lead inside the opening 15 minutes, before Antonio Nusa’s outstanding solo goal doubled the Scandinavian outfit’s advantage.
Odegaard then beautifully crafted the third before the break, playing Erling Haaland in on goal with an exceptional through-ball, before the Manchester City man rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma and slotted home.
The result sees Norway top their World Cup qualification group after three matches, putting them in a great position to earn a spot at next summer’s tournament in North America.
Norway’s media praise Martin Odegaard performance against Italy
Odegaard struggled for large parts of last season, not playing at his usually elite creative level for several months after returning from injury.
Given how much Arsenal rely on the Norwegian, this form would no doubt have been hugely concerning for Mikel Arteta.
However, Odegaard showed signs of life in the final few matches of the season, scoring an exceptional winning goal away at Southampton on the final day of the season.
This return to form appears to have continued, with the creative midfielder producing an impressive showing for Norway against Italy on Friday.
Norway’s national media waxed lyrical about Odegaard, with TV2 awarding him a 9/10 in their player ratings.
Meanwhile, NRK also gave him a nine, whilst writing: “First got involved after nine minutes, and then waited a few brilliant minutes for our captain, who really took responsibility with the ball. Set up Sørloth for a good opportunity after 31 minutes.
“Defensively good as always. Silky smooth through play to Haaland before 3-0. Very important block at the start of the second half.
“Excellent break, but a little too weak forward play to Haaland ten minutes into the second half. Overall pretty good set pieces. Brilliant defensively throughout the second half, three fantastic breaks.
“Played in both small and large spaces throughout the second half. Another tremendous game by the captain!”
Arsenal have come to expect astute defensive displays from Odegaard, but it has been his lack of influence in the final third that has sparked debate around him.
The Norwegian outlets identifying the ‘responsibility’ he took on the ball will be great news for Arteta, who needs the player to take initiative more next season, like he has done previously.
Martin Odegaard’s statistics vs Italy
Even in Odegaard’s worst periods this season, he still retained possession excellently and helped Arsenal progress the ball.
However, he lost his creative spark in these periods, but that certainly wasn’t the case against die Azzurri.
| Martin Odegaard’ Statistics vs Italy | |
| Minutes Played | 90 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Expected Assists | 0.39 |
| Accurate Passes | 48/50 (96%) |
| Chances Created | 3 |
| Passes into the Final Third | 8 |
| Recoveries | 8 |
Completing a staggering 96% of his passes and eight passes into the final third, Odegaard also accumulated 0.39 expected assists and created three chances for his teammates.
An excellent all-round display, Arteta will be hoping his skipper maintains this level next season.
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