"Fantastic player" - Erling Haaland praises Arsenal star in podcast with KSI and Logan Paul

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has lavished praise on Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian striker hailed his fellow countryman's abilities on the pitch on a podcast with British youtuber KSI and American internet personality, Logan Paul.

Discussing various athletes from his home country and their achievements, Haaland said on the Impaulsive podcast (as quoted by The Boot Room):

“We’ve got a lot of athletes, as well. Hovland, the golfer, is doing amazing. You’ve got [Casper] Ruud in Tennis, [who is] also amazing."

He added on the Arsenal captain:

“Don’t forget Odegaard, fantastic player, he plays for Arsenal [and] he’s the captain. We’ve got a lot of good athletes from a small country and that’s also a really nice thing.”

Odegaard joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in the summer of 2021. The Norwegian international has since been an instrumental player in Mikel Arteta's side.

He has registered 109 appearances across all competitions for the North London outfit, scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists.

Odegaard played a crucial role in the Gunners' title challenge during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign. The Norwegian midfielder racked up 15 goals and 8 assists in 37 league encounters for Arsenal last term as they looked to dethrone English champions Manchester City.

He has been off to a great start this season as well, scoring the match-winning goal in the Gunners' 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on 22 August.

"It wasn’t something we discussed" - Arsenal star Martin Odegard explains why he took penalty against Crystal Palace instead of Bukayo Saka

Arsenal's main penalty-taker under Mikel Arteta is Bukayo Saka, a responsibility he has borne since the 2021/22 campaign. The Gunners were awarded a penalty in their encounter against Crystal Palace after Eddie Nketiah was fouled.

While many expected Saka to step up to the spot, Odegaard surprisingly took the penalty and scored the match-winner. The Norwegian midfielder has now revealed why he was given the opportunity over the England international.

He revealed that it was not a pre-meditated move, but something that was decided on the spot after consulting with Saka. Odegaard said (via football.london):

"I have to thank Bukayo for his part in the decision on the penalty against Palace. It wasn’t something we discussed before the game, but we’d been practising them a lot in pre-season and I scored all of mine, so I was feeling good."

He added:

"When we got the penalty on Monday, me and Bukayo talked and I asked if I could take it. I was feeling good and he gave it to me so thanks a lot to Bukayo for that."

Things certainly worked out for the Norwegian international as Arsenal went on to secure all three points from that encounter.