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Five times Martin Odegaard has earned the label 'filthy' for mesmerising play

talksport.com, 23 March 2023, 09:30
Martin Odegaard continues to dazzle fans with the Arsenal skipper in contention to win the PFA Player of the Year award.

The 24-year-old has been pivotal in the Gunners sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table with just ten games to go.

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Chipping in with ten goals and seven assists in the top-flight, no other midfielder has scored more than the Norway international this season.

talkSPORT host and Arsenal fan Laura Woods has hinted that the ex-Real Madrid starlet could soon be handed a new deal to keep him in north London until 2030.

And that will be music to the ears of the Gunners faithful, who have often been left mesmerised by his performances.

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Labelled as the Premier League's best midfielder this campaign by Jamie Redknapp, few would argue against his claim.

Odegaard regularly produces moments of magic that leave fans in awe of his technical abilities.

Here talkSPORT.com runs you through just five times he has left supporters scratching their heads this term.

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Rabona slide tackle against Everton

Earlier this month, Odegaard somehow managed to turn a sliding challenge on Alex Iwobi into a five-star skill move.

Both players went to the ground to get the ball, but it was the Gunners man that got there first, where he flicked the ball up with his trailing leg.

He then glided past the Arsenal academy graduate as he rose to his feet, with Oleksandr Zinchenko giving him a round of applause as Odegaard passed the ball back to William Saliba.

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Summing up every fan's reaction to the piece of skill, this Twitter user said: "Still thinking that Odegard's rabona tackle."

Drag back pass vs Brighton

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The 2020 Copa del Rey winner produced one of the greatest Premier League passes in history during Arsenal's New Year's Eve victory away at Brighton.

Prior to hammering home a volley in the 39th minute, Odegaard bamboozled the Seagulls defence after taking three players out of the game.

With the ball at his feet ten yards out from goal, Lewis Dunk, Tariq Lamptey and Adam Lallana all sprinted towards him.

Unfazed by their presence, he waited for them to close him down, before dragging the ball away back, before instantly threading a pass through Dunk's legs.

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Gabriel Martinelli latched onto the through ball where he was one-on-one with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but he instead chose to square the ball for Bukayo Saka instead of dinking the ball over the onrushing Spaniard.

Levi Colwill eventually cleared away the danger, but social media was sent into meltdown over the piece of trickery.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "I need that Odegaard bit of skill on repeat."

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Assist of the season at the Amex Stadium

After running the show in the first half in the south coast, Odegaard produced the assist of the campaign so far in the second half.

In what was another breathtaking moment, Odegaard again found the run of Martinelli, only this time it was with a first-time defence-splitting pass from inside his own half.

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Receiving the ball from Granit Xhaka, Odegaard scanned to see Martinelli on his bike, with the Brazilian not needing to break his stride as he glided past Lamptey.

Martinelli only had the goalkeeper to beat, and unlike his chance earlier in the game, he refused to square to Saka, as he poked the ball through Sanchez's legs.

Waxing lyrical over Odegaard's pass, Arsenal icon Paul Merson compared the player to snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan.

He told Sky Sports: "When you talk about people seeing pictures, Martin Odegaard knows what he is doing before this ball comes, he knows what he's doing and Martinelli knows what he is doing and he's away.

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"He is running with pace full pelt with the ball. That is Ronnie O'Sullivan in football, he's looking at the pots and that is Martin Odegaard.

"A lot of people don't see that pass, he is probably the only player on the pitch who sees that."

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Reverse elastico through ball against Manchester United

In what was another jaw-dropping piece of skill, Odegaard almost picked out Xhaka with a stunning scoop pass in the epic 3-2 win against United in January.

Channelling his inner-Ronaldinho, Odegaard humiliated Raphael Varane after he dived in for a tackle.

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The playmaker seamlessly shifted the ball to the outside of his left foot before playing in Xhaka in one smooth motion.

But Lisandro Martinez managed to put in a vital challenge before the Switzerland international could get there first.

Fans were left in awe, as one tweeted: "You know you're a baller when your skill moves are your passes."

Another commented: "We need to speak more about Odegaard´s flicks man, he´s doing reverse elastico passes for fun."

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A third added: "Let's just talk about this pass for a minute…"

Cruyff turn against West Ham

Odegaard's flamboyant moves were also on show in Arsenal's 3-1 Boxing Day win over West Ham.

The ex-Real Sociedad loan star looked to have nowhere to go when Hammers duo Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen had forced him to the byline.

But he left the pair embarrassed after pulling off a Cruyff turn to get away from them.

Taking to social media, one user joked: "Absolutely pulled both of their pants down. Lovely stuff. What a performance."

Another stated: "This is so mesmerising…I just can't get myself out of watching this on a loop."

This fan then quipped: "There was absolutely no reason for Odegaard to embarrass those two gentlemen like that!"

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