A matter of days ago Arsenal confirmed their fan voted Player of the Season award. Who took home the gong? Well, for a second year running it was the skipper, Martin Odegaard.
For a player who was the subject of uncertainty when he arrived on a permanent deal from Real Madrid in 2021, he has defied the doubters and become an elite midfield player, one of the best in the Premier League.
Only two players in the division – Bruno Fernandes and Pasca Gross – completed more key passes than the Norwegian's 102 last season. He is a striker's dream, even if he did only exit the campaign with 11 assists from 48 outings.
Odegaard also scored 11 times during a term where he simply captivated audiences with his gorgeous skill and jaw-dropping vision.
So, if Arsenal repeated that signing it would be pretty special, right?
Arsenal in the hunt to sign Odegaard 2.0
Signed initially on loan during the pandemic season, Odegaard impressed Arteta enough to earn a permanent move to the Emirates Stadium, trading Madrid for London in a deal worth £30m.
That now looks to be a bargain but Arsenal are not stopping there in pursuit of signing players on the fringes in Madrid.
Indeed, according to reports in Spain, Arteta wants to bring Brahim Diaz to the Premier League this summer.
It's stated that 'Arteta is said to be seriously considering signing him for next season' and would 'be willing to offer him a starting role in his project'.
Combine the fact Diaz only started 18 of his 31 outings in LaLiga last season with Kylian Mbappe's arrival and it's likely that the chance for more game time will appeal to the 24-year-old.
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ByCharlie Smith How Brahim Diaz compares to Martin Odegaard
For starters, Diaz has already enjoyed a far more vibrant time of it in Spain's capital than Odegaard ever did.
A genuine wonderkid, Arsenal's current skipper never got a fair shot at it with Madrid, ultimately leaving after just 11 first-team games.
So, Diaz has him trumped in that regard, enjoying a rather prolific time of it during 2023/24. The Spanish-born maestro scored 12 goals and assisted nine strikes, almost identical numbers to Odegaard.
Having played all across the front line, from the left wing, behind the striker and on the right, it's hardly a surprise that analyst Ben Mattinson once said that he "fits Arteta’s profile of a midfielder/winger he likes to work with".
Second striker
14
1 + 2
Attacking midfield
10
4
Right wing
9
3 + 1
Left wing
6
4 + 5
Centre forward
2
0
So, he's versatile. That's the first box ticked. He can score goals; second box ticked. He can also assist; third box ticked. This is shaping up rather well, isn't it?
Where do the other similarities lie? Well, Diaz possesses that intricate ball-playing ability. He can glide past players with ease, ghost into the opposition penalty area and devastate defences.
Having watched him during a loan spell with Milan, Italian football expert Mina Rzouki once said: "He breaks the lines insanely well and his work in tight spaces." That sounds rather like Odegaard, doesn't it?
Also hailed as an "astonishing" talent by Rzouki, naturally, there's also comparisons to similar players in Phil Foden and David Silva. Diaz was at Manchester City but decided to leave in search of more regular football elsewhere.
Speaking on that, Joleon Lescott previously stated: "What I'm seeing hasn't surprised me because I've seen it in the academy [at Man City] but his technical ability was far superior to some of the players they had at their disposal.
"If it wasn't for a young Phil Foden he's probably doing this in a City shirt. They're of a similar mould, they like to get the ball in half spaces and can turn on a sixpence."
So, he's like Foden, he's like Odegaard, is there anything this young 24-year-old cannot do?
Well, evidently not. The statistics paint him in a very vibrant light too. Here's how he stacks up compared to Arsenal's number 8.
Goals
0.47
0.23
Assists
0.35
0.29
Progressive carries
4.42
2.65
Progressive passes
4.36
10
Pass success
84.3%
84.3%
Key passes
1.74
2.97
Shot-creating actions
4.36
6.41
Successful take-ons
3.20
1.08
So, there are obviously some differences when you consider their play styles. Diaz is far more likely to take on a man and beat them, much like Foden, but Odegaard is more likely to create and progress the play via his passing.
That said, that isn't an area the Madrid star particularly struggles in. The Norwegian's progressive passing levels are just simply on a different planet to many players in Europe, so much so that he ranks within the top 2% of positionally similar players on the continent for that metric.
Well, we've hyped the Morocco international up enough now; it's over to you Arteta.
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