Martin Odegaard critics leave ex-Premier League & Norway star ‘shocked and surprised’ as Arsenal captain has morphed from ‘boring’ to ‘amazing’

Odegaard has been that since first linking up with the Gunners in January 2021. At that stage, he was finding first-team opportunities impossible to come by at La Liga giants Real Madrid. A Premier League challenge was warmly embraced.

Few knew what to expect of the creative midfielder back then, with his undoubted potential - which saw headlines being made around the world at the age of 15 - yet to be fully unlocked. There was, however, no doubting his class and ability to cleverly manipulate the ball in midfield.

Arsenal saw enough across a matter of months to put a permanent transfer in place, and there has been no looking back from there. Odegaard has passed 230 appearances for the Gunners, while taking on the captain’s armband.

Having reached double figures for goals in each of his opening two full seasons with Arsenal, those numbers have dipped of late - with the target only being found once this term. Injury issues have held the 27-year-old back at times, leading to inevitable questions of his contribution to the collective cause.

Riise is stunned that such debates ever took place, with the former Premier League star and Norway international - speaking in association with Bally Bet - telling GOAL: “I'm shocked and surprised that he gets so much criticism from his own fans. When you see him coming on the pitch, yes, he has some baggage, everybody does, but he creates everything Arsenal does when he's on. When he came on against West Ham, he changed the game completely - with his energy, his commanding, his movements, his passing, his view.

“I can't believe the critics he gets from Arsenal fans. When I look at TikTok, all these fans from Arsenal, they're just slaughtering him. I can't believe it because of all the injuries he had, he still comes back looking fit, sharp as ever. He wants to do stuff. He wants to win for the club. You see what it means to him when they're winning against West Ham and when they went to a final in the Champions League. You see the players talk about how important he is.

“And the fans don't see what he does off the pitch. And when he comes on, when he plays, he tries to dictate the whole game for the team. Yes, sometimes he doesn’t succeed, but I'm just amazed. He's going to be so important for Arsenal in the Champions League final. And, of course, also for Norway in the World Cup. He's an unbelievable player. Yes, he's been injured, but he comes back looking so fit and so sharp straight away. He's an amazing player.”

While Odegaard’s statistics have hardly caught the eye in 2025-26, others have been stepping up in that department. Leandro Trossard has proved to be a useful asset for the Gunners, with a study from Bally Bet - which compares current market valuations with on-pitch output - calculating that each of his 12 goal contributions “costs” around £1,450,000 - placing him sixth on that 'value for money' Premier League chart.

Arsenal will hope to see their skipper rise up those rankings again in the not too distant future, as he prepares to hoist a first top-flight title in 22 years aloft. Odegaard has come a long way from humble beginnings, with Riise adding on how much credit his compatriot deserves for working through some testing times - especially at Real Madrid: “I won't criticise his choice when he was young because he did what he felt was right at that time.

“But he really did the right choice when he went on loan. The loan club he went to was the right one. He took a step, got playing time. I think he was unbelievable when he was at Sociedad, and then he went to Arsenal. I think he's been amazing for Arsenal.

“The only thing people criticise him for is because he's the one everybody looks at to dominate the game. If he doesn't dominate the game, people think, ‘Oh, he's sh*t’. But we talk about the Premier League here and you can't really expect a player with his playing style to dominate every game. You have to understand, he gets man-marked some games, which opens space for other players to do stuff. So, look behind the results sometimes.

“But I think Odegaard is unbelievable and has been amazing. I think before he was accused of being a bit boring because he was always playing the ball backwards, sideways, backwards, sideways. Now he's taking the ball, going against defenders, midfielders, playing forward, link-up play, one-twos, backheels, scoring goals, creating goals in the box. Now he's very important for Arsenal.”

Odegaard will get his hands on the Premier League trophy after Arsenal have completed their domestic schedule with a trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday. He is the first man to lift that piece of silverware since ‘Invincibles’ captain Patrick Vieira in 2004.

The Gunners are hoping that they will have further cause for celebration on May 30 when facing Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning kings of Europe, in the Champions League final - with history up for grabs there as north London heavyweights seek to land that prestigious prize for the first time.