It might be a cliché, but over the last few years or so, Arsenal have been on a pretty remarkable journey from mid-table strugglers to one of the best teams in the country.
The Gunners may well have looked lacklustre in the last month or so, but under Mikel Arteta’s premiership, they have challenged for the Premier League in back-to-back campaigns, and they may well do so for a third if things go their way in the coming weeks.
Now, a large part of the North Londoners’ rejuvenation is undoubtedly down to Arteta’s tactical brilliance and leadership qualities, but equally important have been the signings he’s made.
The likes of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Magalhaes have all played critical roles in the last few years, but there was one addition made just over three years ago who has been utterly transformational and could now be worth a small fortune.
Arsenal's 2021 summer signings
So, the player in question officially put pen to paper on a long-term deal with Arsenal in the summer of 2021, but before we talk about him, let’s examine a few other additions made in that transfer window, starting with Ben White.
The Englishman joined the Gunners from fellow Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for a whopping £50m that July.
While there were plenty of detractors at the time, it would be hard to describe the move as anything other than a roaring success.
In his first season with the club, the Poole-born ace almost exclusively played in the centre-back position, but upon the introduction of William Saliba the following summer, he moved to right-back, where he remains a key member of the team today, 146 appearances later – he also netted the club’s 10000th goal last season.
The club signed another versatile defender that same summer, splashing £15.5m on Bologna’s Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu, although things have not gone quite as well for the 26-year-old since.
Now, that is not down to his ability, as the club were delighted to hand him a new contract over the summer, but instead, his fitness, as since joining the Gunners, he’s missed 62 games for club and country and is currently out of action with a knee action.
However, the Fukuoka-born ace has not been the only 2021 arrival to suffer from injury problems this season, although his fellow summer arrival is now back in the team, justifying his comparisons to some of the best players in the world and the potential mammoth price tag that comes with those comparisons.
The Arsenal star who could be worth a fortune
Okay, so with two 2021 additions already accounted for, and the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Albert Sambi Lokonga no longer at the club, it’s probably not a surprise that the player in question is none other than Martin Odegaard.
The midfield maestro may have joined the club on loan in January 2021, but it wasn’t until August that the club opted to spend £30m to make his move permanent, and what a decision that was.
In 159 appearances, the Drammen-born dynamo has racked up a seriously impressive haul of 35 goals and 27 assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.56 games.
However, it’s not just his output that makes the “sensational” Norwegian star, as dubbed by The Athletic’s Aaron Catterson-Reid, such an essential member of the team; he’s also an incredible leader, captaining his national team and being handed the armband by Arteta in 2022, despite being just 23 years old at the time.
In short, the former Real Madrid gem has become an essential member of this Arsenal side in countless ways, and as such, has won comparisons to some of the best players in the world, including last season’s PFA Player of the Year, Phil Foden.
The comparison stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the number one most similar midfielder to the Gunners star.
Now, to get a better idea of how this conclusion was reached, we can examine the underlying metrics in which the pair ranks most closely, metrics including but not limited to progressive carries, non-penalty expected goals, shots on target, passes into the penalty area and more, all per 90.
Progressive Carries
2.98
2.30
Non-Penalty Expected Goals
0.17
0.23
Shots on Target
0.42
0.33
Passing Accuracy
82.9%
82.9%
Passes into the Penalty Area
2.77
2.30
Crosses into the Penalty Area
0.21
0.33
Live Passes
43.2
47.9
Comparisons to such a superb player should be celebrated in their own right, but there could be more reasons for the board to be happy, as if the two midfielders are positionally and statistically similar, while also being just a year apart age-wise, should they not be valued similarly?
Arteta and Co will certainly hope so, as Transfermarkt values the City star at an eye-watering €150m, which converts to around £125m.
So, while he doesn’t have that valuation today, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that in Odegaard, Arsenal have an incredible £125m superstar in the making.
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