Arsenal: Martin Odegaard new role explained by Mikel Arteta after captain's Champions League winner at Napoli

Martin Odegaard is a player transformed at the start of this season - and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta puts his captain's impressive form down to fitness and new positioning.

Odegaard was the match-winner again for Arsenal on Wednesday, thumping in the only goal of the game in the Champions League victory at Napoli.

That hit followed his clinching strike against Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday and takes his total to four goals in five appearances this season across all competitions.

Odegaard only scored once for Arsenal during an injury-hit 2025/26 campaign but now his stats are up across a range of other attacking metrics, too.

"First of all he needs to be available and last year he missed so many games through injuries," said Arteta when asked in his post-match press conference about Odegaard's improvement.