London [UK], June 4 : Arsenal captain Norwegian attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard reflected on how he is handling the task of being a role model and being the one who imparts advice to others.
The 24-year-old has had vast experience as he has made more than 100 appearances to his name for the Gunners. While many players struggle to bear the load of leading the club, Odegaard does not see his leadership role as a burden, he feels the responsibility sits comfortably on his shoulders.
While speaking to Arsenal Odegaard said as quoted by www.arsenal.com, "I think it's ok. I'm just trying to be myself and I don't think about that side of it too much. But I do know that there are young people watching you too so you have to think about what you do, what you are saying and things like that."
"You have to be careful with what you post on social media and so on. It's true I want to be a good role model for young kids and hopefully be someone that they can look up to and if possible learn from as well."
"All footballers have to think about this of course, but for me, it's not a big problem because I'm just trying to be myself. I'm aware that people are watching what you do and how you do it, and of course, you have a responsibility there. I just want to be myself," Odegaard concluded.
Last month, Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta praised Odegaard for his performances and he believes that the Norwegian has some areas to improve and he is constantly working on them.
"We do not know what the limits of the players are. When you have a player of his quality and his eagerness to learn every single day, he accepts that there are areas he can still improve a lot. He is constantly working on them, and in the end, you get rewarded. That's a credit to him." said the manager as per the club's official website.
The Norwegian midfielder has scored 15 goals and provided 7 assists in 37 appearances in this Premier League 2022/23 season. Odegaard made his senior international debut for Norway in 2014, at age 15, and set the record for the youngest senior Norwegian player, and the youngest player to play in a UEFA European Championship qualifying match. He assumed the full captaincy of Norway in March 2021.
He began his senior club career at age 15 in 2014, playing for Stromsgodset; he set the Tippeligaen record for its youngest goalscorer, In 2015, he signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth an initial EUR4 million Euros, where he set the club record for its youngest player.
After enduring sporadic playing time, Odegaard joined Eredivisie clubs Heerenveen and Vitesse, and La Liga club Real Sociedad, on successive loans between 2017 and 2019; Odegaard won the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad in 2019.
Following another loan, he signed for Arsenal in 2021 in a transfer worth an initial EUR35 million Euros. After a successful first full season with Arsenal, he was announced as the club's captain in 2022.
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