After Kai Havertz’s first season at Arsenal, Martin Odegaard and him seem to have forged a close bond. Havertz was expected to join the club’s captain Odegaard and other summer acquisition Declan Rice in a revamped midfield after his £65 million arrival from Chelsea.

His arrival was followed by a tumultuous first few months in north London, but a tactical adjustment allowed Mikel Arteta to extract the finest possible performance from the German. Havertz truly came on in the final 14 games of the Premier League season, scoring nine goals and dishing out six assists.

Odegaard had a similar campaign, with a difficult finish to 2023 that was quickly forgotten given his performance following the new year. With his inventiveness and keen sense of passing—two very valuable skills—the Norway international was crucial in keeping Arsenal in the title chase.

Odegaard recorded his twelfth assist of the season against Everton on the last day of the season. Havertz benefited from his skill to score the game-winning goal late on after Takehiro Tomiyasu had cancelled out Idrissa Gueye’s deflection opening.

Arsenal was able to celebrate another record-breаking season with a win, even if it didn’t really matter because Man City’s triumph over West Ham made them champions.

Odegaard and Havertz’s on-field connection appears to have shifted to off-field as the latter shared a photo of the Arsenal pair on vacation. Havertz captioned the Instagram photo of them card-playing on a boat, saying, “[boat emoji] Recharging. And Odegaard said, “[raised hands emoji] brother.”

With the 24-year-old expected to compete for host nation Germany in the 2024 European championships, Havertz is in for a somewhat hectic summer. But with Norway not making the summer tournament, Odegaard will have plenty of time to relax and recuperate following a demanding season.