Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has suggested that Arsenal captain and compatriot Martin Odegaard could have scooped awards ahead of himself. The Norway international teammates went head-to-head in the Premier League this season, both vying for the title with their respective teams.
It was Haaland that would come out on top though as he helped guide City towards yet another trophy, with the possibility of completing a treble this campaign. The 22-year-old has 36 goals and eight assists to his name over 35 Premier League appearances in his debut season, underlining his impact on his new team.
In comparison, Odegaard has been equally important to the Gunners, taking up the leadership role that would push them forwards from their fifth-placed finish. The 24-year-old scored 15 goals and assisted eight in 35 appearances in the division, leading the charts from the midfield ranks.
Mikel Arteta said: “Those are the demands he puts on himself and the areas he had huge margins to improve. He is making huge steps in the right direction to become a game-winner. Then you need really good team-mates around you, which he has, and that obviously helps as well.”
While Haaland has had an outstanding campaign of his own, the goalscorer has suggested that Odegaard could have won the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Season award ahead of him. Speaking to William Hill,
Erling Haaland said: “If I had to pick another player to have won Player of the Year, I would say my Norwegian friend, [Martin] Odegaard has had a really good season. There are also other teammates that could have easily won it because there’s a lot of players in the Manchester City team that have been outstanding this season. If you watch all of our games, you will see that Rodri has just been so solid throughout the whole season. I think sometimes he is a bit hidden because he is in midfield and he’s the one pulling everything together. I don’t want to say too many names, but maybe it could have been one of them.”
