After the Iraq match, “experts” in various Norwegian media were out and asked questions about whether Martin Ødegaard should be involved at all from the start against Senegal. We responded with “Idiotic to dump Martin Ødegaard in the World Cup!”. On Tuesday night, Martin Ødegaard himself silenced the critics.
Our captain delivered a top game, where he led Norway to a 3-2 win against Senegal and with a masterful assist to Erling Haaland’s goal. “I’ve tried to laugh about it, really. There has been a lot of weirdness and a lot of nonsense,” Ødegaard said to verdens gang about the criticism.
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Before the Senegal game, we drew a parallel to the situation at Arsenal – and why it is idiotic to dump captain Ødegaard in the World Cup.
We saw it in the last few months of the Premier League season. Martin Ødegaard’s season was hampered by injuries and a lack of continuity in the world-class game the Arsenal captain has delivered since his move to the Premier League in 2021. The English media and “football experts” began a “Arsenal must change captain” and “Arsenal must sell Ødegaard” campaign.
Mikel Arteta was crystal clear when he described the Norwegian’s crucial role for Arsenal on the training ground, in the dressing room and on the match ground. It is the continuity that has given Arsenal the foundation to win the Premier League and go all the way to the Champions League final, which is decided on penalties. Martin Ødegaard is an important part of this continuity since 2021. Clubs such as Manchester City and Liverpool have shown that there is a tribe of players and managers, who bring success more than in individual seasons.
In the World Cup’s first match against Iraq, there was no doubt that Martin Ødegaard had more in store, but as the big football nations know, have experienced and take advantage of every single championship: The most important players to go far in a World Cup or European Championship must be on the pitch and build up their performances throughout the championship. It would therefore be idiotic to send Ødegaard to the bench after the first game, because he “did not perform in world class, as we all expect”, we wrote.
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Fortunately, neither Mikel Arteta nor Ståle Solbakken are swayed by the “experts'” criticism of captain Ødegaard. Arsenal got their Premier League title, Norway is through to the round of 16. Enough talk about Ødegaard, NEVER underestimate this man.
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