Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is enjoying the finest form of his recent career, silencing critics who had questioned his place in the side.
The Norwegian skipper has scored three goals in his first four matches of the 2026/27 season, looking every bit the dynamic leader Arsenal fans have demanded.
His most recent strike came against Chelsea, when Odegaard latched onto Christos Tzolis’ pass, took a touch, and hammered the ball past Emiliano Martinez in emphatic fashion.
Manager Mikel Arteta was clearly delighted with his captain’s contribution, saying post-match: “He is enjoying his football. His personal life is settled, he is available, he is training, he has his routine.”
The turnaround is remarkable given that, just months ago, there were genuine suggestions Arsenal could cash in on their number eight during the summer transfer window.
Odegaard scored just six goals in all competitions during 2024/25, and only once in the campaign that followed, leaving supporters frustrated and calling for a change.
Fans felt the team lacked a spark with Odegaard in the side, craving an explosive ringmaster in the mould of Kevin De Bruyne to truly dictate play in the final third.
A brilliant World Cup with Norway appears to have reignited something in the 27-year-old, who has returned to club football looking refreshed and full of confidence.
Against Chelsea, Odegaard was instrumental across 77 minutes, completing 48 of 54 passes, creating four key chances including two big chances, and winning three of his five duels.
The revival draws inevitable comparisons to the redemption arc of former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, who famously went from nearly leaving the club to becoming a cult hero.
Xhaka’s lowest point came in October 2019, when he was jeered off by home supporters during a match against Crystal Palace before ripping the armband off and throwing it to the floor.
The Swiss midfielder later admitted in the Players’ Tribune: “When I close my eyes now, I can still see their faces. I can see their anger. The passports were out. I was done with Arsenal. Finished.”
It was Arteta who brought Xhaka back from the brink, deploying him further forward in a number eight role that saw him score nine goals and register seven assists during the 2022/23 season.
Odegaard, who has captained Arsenal since July 2022, has now outlasted that turbulent period in his own career, with teammates continuing to vote him as their leader despite the emergence of Declan Rice.
The Norwegian is not the most confrontational of leaders, but his performance against Chelsea demonstrated exactly the kind of composed, decisive authority that defines the very best captains in the Premier League.
Arsenal went a goal down in that match before responding powerfully, with Kai Havertz and then Odegaard turning the game on its head to hand Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea a lesson.
Much like Xhaka before him, the former Real Madrid man has shown that patience and belief from a manager can transform a player’s entire trajectory at a football club.
The Arsenal captaincy has historically been something of a poisoned chalice, with figures from William Gallas to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leaving under difficult circumstances over the past two decades.
Odegaard, for now at least, looks set to write a very different chapter, one defined not by controversy but by a compelling and timely return to his absolute best.