Jamie Redknapp believes Arsenal skipper has now usurped ’s Kevin De Bruyne as the number one midfielder in the Premier League.
The Norwegian playmaker netted the third of Arsenal’s three first-half goals at Craven Cottage on Sunday as the Gunners restored their five-point lead at the top of the table courtesy of a 3-0 win over Fulham.
opened the scoring before added a second, with Odegaard putting the game to bed on the stroke of half-time with a typically calm finish, and firing into the far corner on his cultured left foot.
The 24-year-old now has 10 goals and six assists this season in the league and Redknapp feels he has taken over the mantle of being the Premier League’s best creator from De Bruyne.
‘Right now he’s number one. There’s nobody [better],’ said the pundit on Sky Sports.
‘Normally we would say Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfield player, not just in the Premier League but the world. But something isn’t quite right. He isn’t playing as many games as he’d like.
‘But Odegaard does this thing where – all great players possess it – it’s like time stands still when he has the ball.
‘Most players [would rush the shot today], especially midfield players as we’re not used to getting in those situations.
‘But the calmness that he possesses, he’s scored four or five goals like that with that left foot. He’s the captain, he’s the leader.
‘Yeah, for me he’s number one [in the Premier League]. And he’s leading that team.
‘The other thing he does as well, when he hasn’t got the ball he goes and presses it. He’s the first one, the first point of defence, he goes and presses and then all of a sudden it catches. He does it so well.’
Fellow pundit Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was also full of praise for Odegaard, saying: ‘He’s a different player than De Bruyne but he has always got a solution, you know.
‘When he comes in a tight space he finds the right solution – and very calmly. He doesn’t have as many assists as De Bruyne because he’s not that kind of player. But the other things he is doing, he is doing them so elegantly and so good. It’s a pleasure to watch him.’
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