Martin Ødegaard has a sense of the otherworldly about him: ask any staunch Gooner and they’ll upgrade that to the divine. It’s the deft, silky feet, sure, and his telepathic connection with the ball. There’s also the vision, the ability to scan the entire pitch in real-time, like he’s seeing it from the God’s-eye-view of a FIFA player. All this makes Ødegaard terrifying – and terrific – on the pitch. But he is also Arsenal’s bannerman, the conductor who demands the song of the Emirates faithful, like an especially electrified Leonard Bernstein.

He is just the fifth Arsenal player, following Bukayo Saka, to win two consecutive club Player of the Season awards. Jürgen Klopp wanted him as a teenager. Thierry Henry has compared him to Dennis Bergkamp. He is certainly one of the most exhilarating midfielders in the Premier League — and on his day, undoubtedly, the best. You might think it’s tough to stay in the present, then. But not for 25-year-old Ødegaard. “I think it’s been important for me to be myself. I’m just the way I am,” he says. “It’s not like I’m trying to be, like, humble or anything… it’s just being true to myself.”

Jumper, £1750, by Bottega Veneta. Jeans, £240, by Ami. Shoes, £245, by Russell & Bromley.

Ryan Saradjola

Now the figurehead of a resurgent Arsenal under manager Mikel Arteta, Ødegaard emerged as a wunderkind when he became the Norwegian national team’s youngest debutant at 15. A year later, in 2015, he was signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid. He played his first game for them on the final day of the 2014–15 season, when he also became their youngest debutant, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo for the last third of an end-of-season match against Getafe. It would be another half-decade before his next appearance for Los Blancos, the time between spent in Real’s second team, on loan in the Dutch premier league and, in 2019–20, at the mid-table La Liga side Real Sociedad.

While Ødegaard has spoken fondly of his time at the Bernabéu, by his early 20s he needed somewhere to settle down. “I needed to find an actual home,” he told the Player’s Tribune in 2023. “I found it in North London.” He joined the Gunners on loan in January 2021, made it permanent that summer, and was given the captain’s armband the following year.

Ryan Saradjola

Jacket and jeans, both £110, by Calvin Klein. T-shirt, £130 by Agolde.

Ryan Saradjola

Arsenal have twice fallen agonisingly short of the Premier League title since his arrival, but the team’s evolution is obvious. Ødegaard supercharged their two second-place finishes behind Pep Guardiola’s utterly ruthless Manchester City. Last season, the title came down to the final day after a New Year surge saw Arsenal lose just one match. “I just felt like the team got more together,” says Ødegaard. “We were closer to each other. It’s not like we did anything special, but I think [it] just connected us more.

That’s what drives me: the love of the game and the desire to be better all the time.

On the final day, City led Arsenal by two points. City were at home against West Ham; to win the league, Arsenal needed to beat Everton at home and for the Hammers to get at least a point. “I think we all had the feeling that something was going to happen, and we had a good feeling going into the game,” says Ødegaard. But it wasn’t to be. Arsenal did their job, but so did Pep’s light-blue machine. “Obviously, I was really disappointed. [I had this] empty feeling after the game, just like, flat and emotionless,” he tells me. “It’s really hard, because you’re so tired and you’ve been fighting for so long. But I think, on the other hand, it was a lot better than the season before.”

 

Jacket, £505, and shorts, £385, by Entire Studio at Selfridges. Top, £105, by Onia at Mr Porter. Socks, £11, by Falke. Shoes, £240 by Duke + Dexter.

Ryan Saradjola

But Ødegaard has long had to fight. His determination is evident in every heel flick, every killer pass to Saka or Kai Havertz, every time he puts a defender on his arse to the roar of 60,000. To watch him on the field is to watch a man hellbent on extracting just one per cent more out of his team and himself – because maybe, just maybe, that could be the difference.

“I’ve always had the dream, you know… I think that’s what drives me, the love of the game and the desire to be better all the time,” he says. “And when I’ve had tough periods, my response has always been hard work.” Ideal qualities in a leader – and the captaincy has changed Ødegaard off the pitch, too. “I think it’s helping me to grow as a person,” he says. “For me, it’s about getting the best out of the team and the best out of the people around me. I feel like that’s my main job, to make people better.”

Hoodie, £1320, by Gucci. Shirt, £255, and jeans, £225, both by APC at Selfridges.

Ryan Saradjola

The new season offers another chance at the title – and further evolution. More room to prove who he is. More time to inspire and elevate those around him. And naturally, higher expectations. How’s the pressure?

“I think I’ve always been quite good at [managing] it. I’ve always been very relaxed, and I’ve always enjoyed a big game,” he says. “I kind of enjoy the pressure, because it makes you more sharp, more focused. With age and experience, I’ll get even better at it.”