The one statistic that proves Kevin De Bruyne's verdict of Arsenal star wrong
Over the last couple of years, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has established himself as one of the world's best midfielders.
The Gunners captain has gone from strength to strength as the right-sided number eight in Mikel Arteta's setup, consistently finding the back of the net. In fact, only five players have scored more non-penalty Premier League goals than Odegaard since the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
These numbers read even more impressive when you consider that all five of those players are forwards whilst the Norway international is very much a midfielder. The former Real Madrid playmaker has scored a whopping 16 non-penalty league goals in the last 12 months, with his most recent coming on Sunday during his side's 3-1 victory over Manchester United.
For context, United creative maestro Bruno Fernandes has scored six non-penalty goals in the same period, ten less than Odegaard, which makes Kevin De Bruyne's recent ranking of the two players even more puzzling. When asked to rank Fernandes, Odegaard and Tottenham's James Maddison, the Manchester City star put the Portugal international first, with Odegaard second and Maddison third.
«I think he's a creative machine, just in general,» De Bruyne told Sky Sports when discussing Fernandes. «I think Odegaard is very creative but he's a little more controlled, Maddison is really creative, but I need to see more of him in a big team, so that can change. That's why I put him number three.»
When asked why he put the United star above Arsenal's skipper, he added: «He's been doing it for a long time. Odegaard were amazing last year but obviously, he's younger so there's a difference in there.»
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