Martin Odegaard has been voted Arsenal’s player of the season for 2022/23.
The 24-year-old midfielder beat off competition from Bukayo Saka – winner of the award for the last two years – and Gabriel Martinelli, as supporters recognised the consistency of a trio who each scored 15 goals and missed just three Premier League matches between them.
Handed the captain’s armband on the eve of the season, Odegaard made a total of 45 appearances for the Gunners and registered seven assists.
While that tally was four fewer than Saka, the Norway international finished the season much stronger – possibly due to the fact he didn’t have to play in the World Cup – and it appears to have earned him the edge in the voting. He amassed 55 per cent of all submissions.
🥇 First place in our Player of the Season vote…
🇳🇴 Martin Odegaard 🇳🇴
🏟 45 games
⚽ 15 goals
🤝 7 assistsWhat a campaign from our captain ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 9, 2023
Amongst Odegaard’s highlights were fine strikes away against Sp*rs and Newcastle, match-winning braces against Bournemouth and Wolves and a barely believable assist for Gabriel Martinelli during the New Year’s Eve 4-2 win at Brighton.
While he’s not the most vocal captain Arsenal have ever had, he certainly has the trust of manager Mikel Arteta and is a key component of Arsenal’s pressing game, which he has coordinated with unrelenting vigour all year. He also knows when to get the home fans going during pressure points.
Speaking last month, Arteta was full of praise for Odegaard: “He has a character that everybody respects, everybody admires and everybody follows.
“He does it in his own way. There are many ways to lead a team and he has a unique one. We don’t want to take anything from that.
“We are really happy he represents the club in the way he does. He needs to continue to develop those skills in the best way because the demands will keep increasing, and his role hopefully as well.”
Odegaard was voted Premier League player of the month for November/December, picked up the best player gong at the London Football Awards and challenged countryman Erling Haaland for the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Congratulations to Martin on a stellar season. We look forward to more in the years to come.
Captain Fantastic
Well deserved!
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t see this level of tangible end product from Martin when he first arrived. He seemed like such a pretty and tidy player but maybe just a little toothless.
But he has proved me so wrong and he’s just been amazing.
And people said no 10’s were dead.
Congrats Martin!
Now someone make him a bloody chant!!
Would be strange if you were the second or third to admit that given it was your opinion to begin with. Imagine if Qwalitee posted here “I’ll be the first to admit Johnny 4 Hats didn’t see this level of end product from Odegaard when he first arrived”. Would be a strange admission and a strange post even for him 🙃
The idioms of the English language are a strange and nuanced beast.
My buddy Klemens from Düsseldorf visited me and wasn’t feeling very well.
I said “Are you under the weather?” and, with his literal German brain, he looked at me as if I was insane.
I also remember fondly him spreading Marmite liberally over his toast and spitting it back out in horror when he bit into it.
I think he thought it was jam or conserve or syrup or some nonsense like that.
He couldn’t believe we ate salty black tar for our breakfast.
Yup. He had my vote. Saka obviously had a blinder too and pure goals/assists are just higher, but Marty’s influence across the pitch was just sublime. His highlight packages from the season are all-worldy. Pure class. I honestly believe we have a top 3 attacking mid in world football in Odegaard.
Yep. He got my vote, too.
For sure, I’d only have KdB ahead of him, and even then I think Ø has some superior attributes- namely his close control dribbling.
I know football is never this linear, but if he, Saka, Martinelli, and Saliba continue their development and this rate, we could feasibly have four players in and around the Balon D’Or conversation. How long has it been since we could say that?!
I would have given it to Saka or even Xhaka because Ode came a little short in his role of “Captain Intrepid” at the end of the season.
“Man City, you’re not going to win it that easy” I didn’t see that leadership.
Arguably, Xhaka is co-captain, if not more of a motivational captain than Odegaard, so, by your logic, he shouldn’t have got the award either.
Gunner for life me hopes
You have a pretty good team when Bukayo Saka is your second-best player.
And Saliba your third!
And Martinelli your fourth!
And Gabriel / Zinchenko / Partey / Ben White / Ramsdale / Jesus your…
Ah feck it. They are all magnificent!
The fact that Odegaard beat Saka to the award shows how insane of a season he had, and I mean that as a compliment to both of them – Saka deserves all the accolades he gets, and yet Odegaard still surpassed them. More than anything though I’m really happy that Odegaard actually got the recognition, because I sometimes feel he does so much but he does it in a way that isn’t necessarily so appreciated by fans. Everyone adores Saka for being lovable and relatable and talented which he 100% is, while if you watch a youtube video on Odegaard… Read more »
Not my player of the year. Good season but was 5th for me. Needs to turn up in pressure games against the big boys.
1. Granit
2. Saliba
3. Saka
4. White
5. Odegaard
Flame away fan boys…:)
Captain Fantastic.
Please don’t go to PSG…
You’ve nothing to worry about there, mate.
Well deserved for the Captain.
On another note, is there an award for the underrated player of the season? For me, that will go to Gabriel. He was everpresent throughout the season. Yes, we conceded some goals, but his build up play and solid defending should not be overlooked. Attacking players usually win awards, but we also need to recognize defenders too.
We need 11 made up awards because our starting 11 all deserve some special recognition. Congrats to the Captain, he raised his game to another level and the manager thinks he can go higher. Who else can’t wait for next season to kick off?
Fantastic player with a great return this season.
And being so young he can only get better with the experience he has gained this season.
This season will have definitely improved him as a player – especially the disappointment of being so close.
Time will tell.
Just. Plain. Silky.
Great player. Had a great season, but I feel he can even get better and improve which is good news for us.
Fantastic
Well deserved, I’d have voted for him too though I do feel like Ramsdale got short shrift in these discussions, for me he’s right up there with Ode and Saka, had one big blooper but has otherwise been incredibly consistent and sometimes match-winningly brilliant. Would be my pick for no. 2.
I voted for him so happy to see this.
An annoying Chelsea fan who was the parent of my son’s previous team said when we signed MO “I don’t rate him, not good enough for top 6 midfield”.
I just laughed at him.
Have you ever met an unannoying Chelsea fan?
Haha mostly correct but I do have a good old friend in Cornwall who is cool.
In our most unbiased tones we can declare that as being the exception to the rule 😊
Yes, Petr Cech.
The rise of odegaard this season has been remarkable, and his popularity has soared as a consequence- even one of arteta’s sons had an odegaard 8 shirt on at the wolves game
the person I voted for won. That doesn’t happen very often.
Snap
Well deserve, captain my captain..
There are not many teams who can cope with Odi at his best. Likewise that also applies to Marti, Saka and Jesus (when staying on his feet) 😉
Odegaard’s roadmap for next year:
1-Win the league
2-Reach CL quaterfinals
Well deserved, maestro
Congrats, Odegaard. The best is yet to come.
Congratulations, my captain! 🎉
Well deserved but there were so many in the team I would’ve been happy for this to go to. Saka and Martinelli are obvious, Ben White had a superb season, as did Granit Xhaka. Then of course there were two players whose absence was always keenly felt in Zinchenko and Saliba. Both, had they been consistently fit all season, could have been in the running for this too. Ramsdale and Gabriel were also solid too. So many contributed well. Gabriel Jesus and Partey both had storming starts but faded and Eddie provided good cover for a few games before the… Read more »
Siliba imo
Well done Martin in my top three.
Out of mind a little bit as he has been injured for a while now. It’s hard not to ask, “What if?” though isn’t it, given how good he was. If he had played to the end of the season then I think he’d be my pick as well.
Very off topic, but I hope we are all Denver Nuggets fans. If KSE win another title before the transfer window opens, then maybe we will get all the additions we need at Arsenal
That will have zero bearing on Arsenal’s summer plans.
If the Nuggs win, then Arsenal becomes the only KSE team that hasn’t won a title recently. I would imagine Arsenal will get more attention as KSE focus first on the right coach and then bring in the players, Rams are a good example of this approach.
Deserves it for the nutmegs, that sliding tackle/control thing and the numerous jaw dropping moments of pure skill, so happy he’s our captain