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Mikel Arteta suggests Martin Odegaard makes Arsenal star play better
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta suggests that new signing Martin Odegaard makes Emile Smith Rowe play better.
Odegaard, 22, completed a permanent move to the Emirates Stadium on Friday from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The attacking midfielder won’t need to go through the daunting task of walking into an unfamiliar dressing room as he spent half the season on loan with the Gunners last year.
Arteta spoke about Odegaard’s positive impact on the team last season during his time at the Emirates, including the impact on Smith Rowe.
Englishman Smith Rowe is a similar creative attacker at the manager’s disposal and Arteta feels he benefited from Odegaard’s presence.
“You see the numbers, what we did after Christmas when we had Martin in the team, people like Emile, the team performed at a completely different level,” Arteta .

Odegaard and Smith Rowe examples of massive Arsenal potential
Odegaard, Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka are amazing young players that will deliver top performances in this new season. Unfortunately, the standard in the squad means the Gunners are asking them to grow up fast.
There will be a real onus on the younger players to shine. It is a fair assessment that Smith Rowe and Odegaard may be on the same wavelength, but fitting the duo into the same XI is the obstacle when they both excel in a No.10 position.
It’s been an extremely busy window for Arsenal, but they need more signings to get back to where they want to be.
Odegaard, along with goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, were both announced as new Arsenal players on Friday. In addition, Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares are fresh faces in the squad.
There is still much more work for the club to complete if they are to avoid another underwhelming campaign.
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