Stunning Martin Odegaard Compilation Vs Benfica 'Proves He Is Mesut Ozil’s Heir At Arsenal'

Martin Odegaard has already been rated as the 'heir to Mesut Ozil's throne' at Arsenal as a stunning compilation highlighted his performance against Benfica.

Arsenal captured the 22-year-old Norwegian attacking midfielder on a loan deal from Real Madrid until the end of the season.

Ozil, meanwhile, left the Gunners in the January window as he signed as a free agent for Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Odegaard made his first Premier League start for Arsenal last week as his side beat Leeds United 4-2 at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta handed the Madrid loanee a start on Thursday as Arsenal travelled to the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg of their round-of-32 Europa League clash.

The Arsenal boss' faith in Odegaard left many Gunners fans impressed with his performance in the midfield against Benfica.

"This guy is a generational midfielder. Look at those final balls. Incredible vision and execution," one fan said.

Someone else tweeted: "His vision is top-notch so is his movement. I'm glad he's here helping the team."

And a third fan wrote: "Very comfortable on the ball, can play in tight spaces and create space, a fantastic eye for the game, footballing intelligence, and can see the play develop two passes before."

While a fourth posted: "Love this. Good know [sic] how of when to play it simple and when to use his talent for something extraordinary. Waiting for him and [Thomas] Partey in the same midfield!"

Arteta brought Odegaard off towards the end of the 1-1 draw and replaced him with former Chelsea star Willian.

Pizzi opened the scoring for Benfica in the second half from the spot-kick before Bukayo Saka pulled back a quick equaliser for Arsenal.

Arsenal will now turn their attention to the Premier League as they host league leaders Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.

The Gunners will resume their Europa League campaign next Thursday for the second-leg clash with Benfica at home.

Topics: Football, Europa League, Martin Odegaard, UEFA, Primeira Liga, Premier League, England, Portugal, Arsenal, Benfica

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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