Martin Odegaard future clarified as Arsenal captain sets sights on major career moment

Martin Odegaard remains a core part of Arsenal's plans and sees his future with the club amid big trophy aims

Martin Odegaard has no plans to leave Arsenal this summer and remains a core part of Mikel Arteta's team, football.london understands, despite recent suggestions of an exit for the club captain this year. The Norwegian has suffered persistent injuries throughout the campaign, which have disrupted his rhythm and contributed to his arguable dips in form.

Yet despite these challenges, Odegaard has continued to return from these issues strongly and is determined to fight his way back into the starting eleven and help take the Gunners to the title and more. Following his knee injury against West Ham United, which kept him out for close to two months, he made five goal contributions between Matchweeks 18 and 24 in the Premier League.

However, after a dip in form and the return of Kai Havertz to fitness, Arteta opted to start the German away to Leeds United over the club captain. Dropped to the bench, he would come off it during the second half, aid in the build-up for the Gunners’ third goal, and assist Gabriel Jesus for the fourth.

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Yet a muscle injury would sideline him again, and he missed the visit of Sunderland and was only fit enough to be on the bench for the trip to Brentford. After a poor first half, his arrival in the second half changed the momentum of the game, and it was no surprise that the Gunners took the lead through Noni Madueke.

However, he was in part at fault for the equaliser, failing to efficiently deal with the run and headed chance for Lewis-Potter and hyperextended his knee in the process. He would finish the game, but the damage would emerge in the subsequent days, causing him to miss the FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic and the collapse at Wolves.

While it was no doubt Eberechi Eze’s story in the North London Derby, Odegaard came on late and earned an assist, setting up Viktor Gyokeres for the fourth, his sixth assist of the league season, taking him joint-top of the team’s highest assisters in the league for the season.

Despite these injuries and interruptions to his season and all the noise from critics and even former players, Odegaard has quietly contributed to the Gunners’ table-topping season to the present day. He faces a fight to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up with Eze in form after the derby, but based on what we have seen so far, it would be little surprise to see him do so.

He has the backing of his manager, with it understood that claims of any rifts or arguments are well wide of the mark, with some puzzlement as to where they have emerged from. The aim is to lift the Premier League trophy, potentially amongst others, in what would be a major career high and the first time doing so with a major trophy as skipper.

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