Martin Odegaard says player Arsenal signed for just £21m is an absolute ‘baller’

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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has delivered his verdict on some of his teammates using just one word.

Mikel Arteta has built a solid squad at the Emirates. The Gunners are now one of the best teams in the world, and they will almost certainly challenge for all four available titles in the 2024/25 season.

To become this strong, Arsenal have had to make some smart signings over the years.

The big-money arrivals like Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have delivered, but many others who cost Arsenal less than half or even a third of what the above two did have stepped up too.

Odegaard has raved about one of them now.

Martin Odegaard says Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard is a ‘baller’

Arsenal signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton in January 2023 for an initial fee of just £21 million (BBC).

The Belgium international became a target for the Gunners after they missed out on signing Mykhaylo Mudryk from Chelsea. Trossard was not their top target by any means.

However, the former Brighton man has been amazing for Arsenal.

Trossard has scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists for the North Londoners in just 36 starts. That is an amazing return, and he has proved to be worth every penny so far.

Odegaard has shared the pitch with several superstars over the years, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos.

The Norwegian knows a good player when he sees one, and he seems to rate Trossard really highly.

When ESPN UK asked Odegaard to describe Trossard using just one word, the Arsenal captain said: “I have a lot of words for this guy… baller!”

READ MORE: Ray Parlour compared Leandro Trossard to one Arsenal Invincible

What Odegaard said about Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and other Arsenal stars

Trossard isn’t the only Arsenal player who received a one-word verdict from his skipper, many others in the squad did too. The most surprising one was when Odegaard compared Oleksandr Zinchenko to Lionel Messi.

Here’s what Odegaard said about the following people:

• Gabriel Magalhaes: “Beast”
• Bukayo Saka: “Starboy”
• Gabriel Jesus: “Craque”
• Declan Rice: “Machine”
• Gabriel Martinelli: “Speed”
• Eddie Nketiah: “Strong”
• Aaron Ramsdale: “Banter”
• William Saliba: “Rolls-Royce”
• Ben White: “Tan”
• Jorginho: “Master”
• David Raya: “Clean-sheet”
• Reiss Nelson: “Technique”
• Kai Havertz: “Goal”
• Mikel Arteta: “Boss”