This international break has been a very positive one for Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard, who has seen his stock rise even more in his country if that was even possible.
There had been some criticism about his inability to find the back of the net for his country despite being more than capable of doing so with the Gunners, as shown in the recent 3-1 win against Manchester United.
However, there are some in his home country who believe the Arsenal star should be forgiven for all that, as what he does elsewhere is far more important.
After all, Norway do have Erling Haaland to score the goals, and that should be the focus of the team, with Ødegaard uniting the rest of the squad.
Stefan Strandberg is one of those vocally defending the Arsenal midfielder, as the defender, who played in both games this international break, wanted to ensure, relayed by NRK, that his teammate got the respect he deserved.
He said: “No one comes close to understanding how much Martin means to us. You see what happens on the pitch. There are many who talk about the fact that he has delivered too few goals, but what he has done for the national team here in recent years… I have no words. The hours he puts in off the pitch to bring us together, for us to develop and for us to become a group that fights together.
“He probably gets a lot of praise in the media, but, in my eyes, it should have been much more. It’s clear that we have Erling, who is perhaps the world’s best player, but we have the captain at Arsenal. What Martin is doing is unrivalled by anyone in Europe right now in my eyes.”
Over the course of his career as a Norway international, Ødegaard has only found the back of the net three times, with the third only coming in the most recent game against Georgia.
By comparison, the player already has two goals for Arsenal this season in four Premier League games.
