Having played against Manchester City on a number of instances, Martin Odegaard needs no reminding of how excellent a number of the Premier League champions’ players are.
Pep Guardiola tried signing Odegaard at Bayern Munich — which reflects how highly he has always rated the Norwegian international.
It goes without saying that Martin Odegaard is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and a player as technically gifted and intelligent as he is would perhaps even be tailor-made to play for City.
As Odegaard has shone over the years, he has often been compared to Kevin De Bruyne — a player he has now had his say on.
Martin Odegaard says Kevin De Bruyne is “one of the best playmakers ever”
Speaking to Sky Sports, Odegaard was quizzed about which playmaker he believes is the best out of De Bruyne, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Zinedine Zidane.
While Odegaard ultimately opted for Messi, he did acknowledge that Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best playmakers in the history of the game.
The Arsenal skipper said: “It’s hard to compare I think, but he’s definitely up there as one of the best playmakers ever.”
Odegaard also added that De Bruyne, who cost Manchester City £54.5 million is the best attacking midfielder in the world: What he’s done in the Premier League for Man City is just crazy. Every player in my position would say him for the best in that position at the moment, he’s just unbelievable.”
Kevin De Bruyne stats compared to Odegaard since he joined Arsenal
The former Real Madrid technician initially signed for Arsenal on loan in 2021 before his move was made permanent in the summer.
While Tony Cascarino believes De Bruyne is superior to Odegaard amongst many other pundits, here is a statistical comparison of both players since the latter headed to the Emirates Stadium.
| SINCE THE 2021/2022 SEASON | KEVIN DE BRUYNE | MARTIN ODEGAARD |
| STARTS | 121 | 173 |
| GOALS | 39 | 39 |
| ASSISTS | 71 | 35 |
De Bruyne has managed to muster up 110 goal contributions (39 goals and 71 assists) in comparison to Odegaard’s tally of 74 (39 goals and 35 assists) since the latter signed for Arsenal permanently.
No wonder the 26-year-old holds the Manchester City legend in such high esteem.
