Troy Deeney shares what he’s now noticed about Martin Odegaard in Arsenal’s warm-ups

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Troy Deeney has shared something interesting he’s spotted Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard doing in the warm-up before matches.

Deeney was speaking to Jermain Defoe on The Players Channel about the Norwegian international.

There was a little bit of surprise when Mikel Arteta named Martin Odegaard as Arsenal’s new captain last season.

Eighteen months after initially joining the club on loan from Real Madrid, he was handed the armband, taking over from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

To many outside of the club, he never stood out as a leader on or off the pitch.

However, he’s grown into the role brilliantly and can be seen encouraging his teammates throughout matches.

His professionalism would have been one of the reasons why Arteta chose him to lead the side.

This was clear to Deeney when he was watching Odegaard in the warm-up before Arsenal’s matches.

The 24-year-old doesn’t appear to do anything on the football pitch just for the sake of it and was putting into practice what he would need going into games.

Odegaard makes the most of Arsenal warm-up

Speaking about one experience at the Emirates, Deeney said: “I watch warm-ups now when I go to games. I make sure I’m there early and I watch how lads warm up.

“I was at the Arsenal game and [Martin] Odegaard yeah, you know when everyone goes off and does their shooting, the strikers go off to do their shooting.

“He was getting one staff member to wrap the ball into him and another one to close him down, just in and around the 18-yard box.

“Taking it up the line, rolling it down the other side, he wouldn’t finish, he didn’t go on and finish, it was just the movements.

“And I was saying to my kids, ‘Are you watching what he’s doing?’, because they’re watching the Wolves lads shooting and I was like, ‘Nah, watch what he’s doing.’, that’s replicating it.

“And then when it came into the game, he did it two or three times, I was like, ‘See, that’s what he’s talking about’.”

Odegaard practising playing under pressure in the warm-up before each Arsenal match has certainly come in handy.

He’s one of the best playmakers in world football now and thrives under pressure in the final third, constantly looking for ways to unlock defences.

Odegaard impressed Kevin de Bruyne last season who is arguably the best chance creator in the world.

The Norwegian is so important to Arsenal that he looks set to be offered a new contract very soon.