Martin Odegaard and Norway were eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday, but not before the midfielder set a new Arsenal record.
Martin Odegaard’s World Cup tournament with Norway came to an end on Saturday evening, as his team were eliminated by England at the quarter-final stage.
But long before the final whistle, Odegaard had actually helped to give Norway the lead, providing an assist for their opening goal.
The assist was the Norway and Arsenal captain’s fourth of the tournament, allowing him to set a new record. No Arsenal player has ever provided four or more assists at a single World Cup tournament before, and Odegaard is now the first.
Only two other Arsenal players have ever provided three assists at a single World Cup – Dennis Bergkamp in 1998 and Bukayo Saka at the current tournament.
Saka could still catch up with and potentially overtake Odegaard, given England remain at the tournament and will play two more games.
England will face Argentina in the semi-final on Wednesday, and then either Spain or France in the third-place play-off on Saturday or the final on Sunday.
But for now, Odegaard is the outright club-record holder for Arsenal players at World Cups.
Odegaard will now begin his summer holidays, which will last a minimum of three weeks. That means an earliest possible return on August 2nd, the day after Arsenal’s opening pre-season friendly against Girona.
On the upside, a return on that date would give Arsenal’s captain the chance to warm up against Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund, and Como 1907 before the Community Shield match against Manchester City on August 16th.
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