Martin Odegaard describes Arsenal teammate as 'Messi' ahead of new season

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has shockingly drawn comparisons between star defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi ahead of the new campaign.

During a recent interview with ESPN, the former Real Madrid midfielder was asked to describe his Gunners teammates using one word. When asked about the former Manchester City left-back, he replied:

"Messi."

Zinchenko, who joined the Gunners in a potential £32 million move from City in the summer of 2022, received a bit of flak for his displays last season. The 27-year-old started 24 of his 35 appearances across competitions, recording one goal and two assists along the way.

In the 2024-25 campaign, the Ukraine international could suffer a drop in Arsenal's pecking order. He is likely to feature as a backup to versatile centre-back Riccardo Calafiori, who arrived from Serie A outfit Bologna in a move worth up to £42 million earlier this summer.

Former Barcelona star Gerard Pique claims Arsenal tried to rope in Lionel Messi in past

During an interaction with Guillem Balague on BBC 5 Live Sport, Barcelona legend Gerard Pique opened up on Arsenal's interest in his former teammates. He stated:

"The first one was Cesc [Fabregas in 2003]... the summer before I left to Manchester United. Then, Arsene [Wenger] came to sign me. At that time, Arsenal didn't want to get into a big fight with Barcelona because they already took Cesc at that time."

Pique, who joined Manchester United in 2004 and left in 2008, added:

"So they were trying to arrive to a deal with Barcelona and it took more time than what we wanted to. Manchester United arrived and said: 'Listen, we want you. Let's take a decision right now.' And I decided to go there."

Revealing the Gunners' interest in Lionel Messi, Pique concluded:

"And it's true that later on I think that Arsene also tried to sign Messi. But he didn't have a chance. And then the good part of that is that all of us went back to Barcelona and we played together again for the first-team of Barcelona."

Pique, who retired from football in 2022, helped the Catalan outfit win a staggering 30 trophies while sharing the same locker room with Messi.

Meanwhile, the eight-time Ballon d'Or award winner is playing for Inter Miami. The 37-year-old left-footed attacker has found the back of the net 25 times and laid out 16 assists in 29 overall games for his team.