‘You’ll see in 3 months’: Arteta says he’s individually working with one Arsenal player to make him even better

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sat down for an interview with Norwegian media outlet TV2 to speak about Martin Odegaard.

The 23-year-old has really stepped up for the Gunners since his loan move was made permanent last summer. He has only been involved in 10 goals in all competitions, but his performance in most games this campaign has been absolutely incredible.

Odegaard has been receiving immense praise for the way he has performed since December. However, this was not always the case for the talented Norwegian as he was heavily criticised by pundits at the start of the campaign.

Arteta was asked about Odegaard and the Arsenal boss revealed that he has been working closely with the ex-Real Madrid man to help him improve in the coming months.

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Mikel Arteta makes interesting claim about Arsenal star Martin Odegaard

Arteta has claimed that the results of all the training Odegaard is going through under him will not be visible in the upcoming games. However, he thinks everyone will be able to notice the difference in three, six or 12 months’ time.

The Arsenal boss said: “What we are working on now, you will see in three months or six months. What Martin is doing now, you do not see on the field now. We see it in three months, six months or a year.

“Right now you may see the results of some of what he has been working on for the last six months. 

“People said that he was unstable, that he could not do this and that, but then he filled out the form to be ready now.”

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Martin Odegaard has always been good for Arsenal under Arteta, even in the second half of the last campaign when he joined the club on loan from Real Madrid. However, he was constantly criticised for his lack of direct goal involvements – just two goals and two assists for the Gunners last season.

Having worked under Arteta in the back end of last campaign and in the months after he made his move to the Emirates permanent, Odegaard has added goals to his name – six this season, which isn’t bad at all.

If Arteta’s words are anything to go by, more work is being done with Odegaard on the training pitch and the results of that should be evident for everyone to see in the coming months.

The good thing for Arsenal is that the Norwegian is still only 23 and has a lot of time to improve. That’s exciting for Gunners fans but the immediate priority is the top-four race this season and Odegaard, at the level he’s in now, will be Arteta’s key man if his side are to get the job done.

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