(Editor’s note: A version of this article was published on May 9, 2023)
As the ball rolled to Martin Odegaard, stationed menacingly outside the PSV Eindhoven box, Joey Veerman sprinted to close him down. There was good reason.
The Norwegian, known for his finesse and deft touches, has been furtively building a reputation for rifling the ball in from the edge of the box.
Ball striking is one part of his game that Odegaard has elevated in the past year. He scored 15 Premier League goals last season, but his shot volume has been increasing every year since joining in January 2021.
He is now averaging over three shots a game, more than double than when he first joined, and his accuracy has also increased.
The reason for getting into better positions more regularly and finding better consistency with his technique may be down to Odegaard landing on two common types of finishes.
When the ball is coming from his right-hand side, he lets the ball roll across him — often taking a touch to set up the shot — before hitting one of the two bottom corners of the goal; his goal against Newcastle United is an example of this. The other is a first-time shot when the ball is coming from the left side, usually in the form of a cutback.
However, Odegaard’s shooting technique is only half the trick. His constant adjustment to his positioning provides him space and time to achieve a better shot on target.
So, to appreciate how he managed to create the room to score Arsenal’s fourth goal on their return to Champions League action, we must rewind 10 seconds before he struck the ball. Odegaard finds himself near Veerman and Sergino Dest as they track back into a defensive position.
Rather than keep pace or try to beat them to the space at the edge of the box, though, Odegaard slows and checks his left shoulder to assess his new surroundings.
Dest has gone to left back and Veerman has been attracted to the ball, which sees Odegaard recognise the room around him. Rather than crowd his own space by moving towardsReiss Nelson, he creates the angle to receive the ball between the two PSV players.
As the ball comes to him, Odegaard relaxes his entire body, softly cushioning the ball as if to set himself for a shot. Veerman accelerates to block…
… but Odegaard knew the ball was slightly behind him and that he would not have the time to take a touch and shoot. His disguise was impeccable, though, and rather than let fly, he shifted the ball, which takes Veerman out of the game.
Odegaard then had the time and the opening, from a more central area, to let fly. He arced his approach to the ball to maximise the purchase he could get with his laces. The combination of power and precision beatsWalter Benitez.
Arsenal’s captain scored a similar goal for Norway against Georgia in the most recent international break.
With the ball moving down the left flank, Odegaard checks to assess the space around the edge of the box.
He can seeNapoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to his right, but he still has enough room to receive the ball on his left at this point.
Two seconds later, however, Kvaratskhelia has closed the gap, so it is too tight for a touch out of his feet. As the ball is about to be played, he looks one last time and realises he needs to be proactive to buy himself the extra yard to shoot first time.
He runs onto the ball and strikes it through the legs of the onrushing defender, again driving the ball into the bottom-right corner with enough speed to beat the goalkeeper.
There is fast becoming a sense of deja vu when Odegaard’s strikes hit the bottom corner.
This was the case in May against Newcastle, as four months earlier Odegaard scored a similar goal away to Tottenham Hotspur: a low, driven, left-footed shot towards the goalkeeper’s bottom-left corner.
Against Newcastle, Odegaard calls for the pass from Bukayo Saka earlier in the attack…
… but the Arsenal forward opts to play it to Jorginho.
Before the ball reaches the Italian, Odegaard starts dropping to allow himself more space — moving a couple of yards backwards to separate himself from the action.
By doing this, Odegaard distances himself from the herd of players towards the edge of the penalty box to allow himself time on the ball in case he receives it.
This comes in handy when Jorginho eventually plays him the ball…
… and the Norwegian’s shot rifles into the bottom corner for his 15th Premier League goal of the season — equalling Cesc Fabregas’ record for most goals by an Arsenal midfielder in a single top-flight campaign, which was set in 2009-10.
A minor tweak in the positioning created more space for Odegaard and, as a result, more time once he received the ball. This type of positional adjustment is synonymous with the Arsenal midfielder.
His goals against Chelsea last season are further examples of this. For the second, Odegaard is initially between the lines as Granit Xhaka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus combine on the left side.
But when Jesus plays the ball back to Trossard, Odegaard doesn’t continue his forward movement. The Norwegian drops to position himself on the blind side of Raheem Sterling and away from Chelsea’s back four.
Odegaard’s adjustment of his positioning keeps him away from the defence — and where Sterling can’t see him. Meanwhile, on the other side, Trossard finds Xhaka as Arsenal’s left-side rotations continue to bamboozle Chelsea.
With the potential of a dangerous ball being played into the penalty box, Chelsea’s defensive line drops deeper once Xhaka gains possession. As for Odegaard, he waits for the right moment to make the run…
… which comes moments later when Xhaka puts the ball into the space between Chelsea’s midfield and defensive line. Odegaard — still on the blind side of Sterling — times his dash perfectly…
… and connects with Xhaka’s low cross to make it 2-0.
A simple goal, but Odegaard’s positioning as Arsenal combined on the other side was key. His movement made him harder to track and the decision to hold his run until Chelsea’s line dropped allowed him to attack the correct space from a dynamic position (on the run) instead of a static position (while standing).
Before that goal, it was also Odegaard’s positioning that helped him pounce for the opener. Here, he is making a forward run from his usual position between the lines as Jesus plays the ball wide to Xhaka.
When the ball reaches the Swiss midfielder, Odegaard calls for the pass…
… but instead of continuing his run, he goes backwards to position himself in free space as the Chelsea players are moving in the other direction towards goal.
Odegaard’s small adjustment frees him from any marking and distances him from the Chelsea players. Xhaka’s low cross finds the Norwegian…
… who scores with a one-touch finish.
When asked in an interview last season about the best bit of advice Mikel Arteta has ever given him, Odegaard credited the Spanish manager for his help in this part of the game. “I would say my position on the pitch (being the best advice), what areas to threaten, and where to be to be dangerous,” said Odegaard. “I think that’s been the main thing for me to improve.”
But this is also something in Odegaard’s game. In an interview with The Athletic , Gabriel Martinelli explained how Odegaard is consistently in the right space at the right time for cutbacks. “I know Martin is always there in that position in training. He always says, ‘When you go wide, I’ll be at the centre of the box’,” said the Brazilian winger.
Earlier this month, he showed the Brazilian’s faith was well-placed when he met his cutback with a swept finish against Manchester United.
As Arsenal broke down the left wing, he was being watched by Christian Eriksen. What happened over the next five seconds captured how intelligent he is at playing the game of cat and mouse around the edge of the box.
Odegaard starts to narrow his position as the ball progresses and is played inside toEddie Nketiah. Eriksen checks his shoulder again to make sure Odegaard has not run off him.
Odegaard has intentionally let Eriksen get back quicker than him to create five yards between them. When the ball lands at the feet of Martinelli, that is Odegaard’s signal to call for the ball, which presumably makes Eriksen think he is about to make a dart from his blind side into the penalty area.
Instead, he comes to a halt and waits for the ball to come to him.
The ball is slightly ahead of his left foot, so he quickly adjusts his feet by taking two small steps to his right, which opens up the angle. When he goes to strike the ball, he has the possibility of whipping the ball anywhere but elects to close his foot at the last second and rifle pastAndre Onana.
In this example against Everton on March 1, Odegaard is between the lines as Xhaka finds Trossard’s run on the other side…
… but he doesn’t rush towards goal…
… instead, he holds and moves diagonally towards the penalty spot to provide a cutback option for Trossard. The Belgian forward finds him…
… and Odegaard scores with another one-touch finish.
Whether it’s a cutback, back-post finish, or a left-footed pile driver, the common thing between Odegaard’s goals is that he has the needed space and time.
That’s because of his positioning before taking the shot.
(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
