Martin Odegaard has been one of the players of the season in the Premier League this term, and due to this fact, comparisons between him and the highly rated and decorated Kevin de Bruyne were inevitable.
The Norwegian midfielder, just like Manchester City's Belgian playmaker, has been pulling the strings for one of England's best-performing clubs. Not only that, but the 24-year-old has gone up leaps and bounds in the goalscoring department, with the former Real Madrid ace being the Gunners' top scorer in the Premier League with 8 goals.
As a result, while De Bruyne has double the amount of Premier League assists than Odegaard (12 to the Norwegian's six), the pair are neck-to-neck in terms of overall goal contribution — 15 for the earlier and 14 for the latter.
But what does Martin think of the non-stop comparison between him and the four-time Premier League winner? Ahead of the highly-anticipated Premier League showdown between Arsenal and Manchester City, the Emirates Stadium captain sat down for an interview with the Evening Standard in which he gave his honest thoughts.
Odegaard, who was named the first-team skipper over the summer, admitted to understanding the comparison while praising De Bruyne, stating that the Belgian ace is someone he has studied.
However, the Norwegian talent was quick to remind everyone that there are differences in how they play.
"He's someone I've watched a lot. We play in the same position and he's one of the best in the world, if not the best, so it's good to try and learn a little bit," the Arsenal midfielder said. "But I think we're quite different as well."
Odegaard also went on to praise teammate Bukayo Saka, one of Arsenal's youngest yet most decisive players this season in their unexpected title push. The Gunners captain pushed back on his sweetheart persona, arguing that the English attacker is a mature attacker who speaks in the dressing when necessary.
"He can be loud when he needs to be," Martin added.
"He says what he wants and he's taking more and more responsibility. People have this [impression] where they see a player and think he's like this [all the time] but inside the dressing room people are different."
Mikel Arteta's side have hit a recent slump in form, with the Premier League leaders going winless in their last three games. First came an FA Cup defeat against Manchester City, with the club then losing 1-0 at Everton and drawing 1-1 at home to Brentford — albeit thanks to a VAR blunder.
Next up for Odegaard and Co. is a league encounter with none other than the Cityzens. The North London giants will welcome Guardiola's defending champions with the sole aim of beating the visitors and going six points clear at the top.
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