Gary Neville believes Martin Odegaard is becoming one of the best players to watch in recent years, arguing that he’s only getting better.

Martin Odegaard has made a strong start to the new Premier League season with Arsenal, scoring a couple of goals in his six starts and captaining the team to five wins.

The 24-year-old was involved in Arsenal’s latest winner against Everton, sliding a pass in behind to Bukayo Saka, who cut back for Leandro Trossard to finish.

Though he didn’t come away with a goal or assist on the day, Odegaard clearly did enough to impress Gary Neville.

“When you think of the most beautiful football players that we’ve watched in the last seven or eight years in the Premier League, I always think of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne,” Neville told Sunday’s Sky Sports broadcast.

“Something that you watch and you’re like ‘that’s the way to play football’.

“And Odegaard, I’m not saying he’s as good as David Silva or Kevin De Bruyne, I think he’s got a bit to go in his career. But he’s getting to a point now where when I watch him play it is so smooth, it’s so silky.

“I knew he was always a talented player, but we’re now talking about something that is very different than just talented. This is real class.

“He would absolutely break into that Manchester City team because he’s a beautiful player to watch, and every time I watch him he gets better and better.”

Odegaard has certainly added a lot to his game over the last couple of years, particularly on the goalscoring front.

The Norwegian international scored 15 times in the Premier League last season without a single penalty, as well as providing eight assists, giving Arsenal a real threat from midfield.

The next step is to lead the team in a similar manner on their return to the Champions League, starting with the game against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday.