Mikel Arteta will have been pleased to see Martin Odegaard translate what he’s learned at Arsenal onto the international stage.
Martin Odegaard staked his claim for a new role at Arsenal during Norway’s clash against Iraq. The Gunners midfielder led Stale Solbakken’s side to a 4-1 victory at the Gillette Stadium on Tuesday night as they began the World Cup in style.
Erling Haaland broke the deadlock inside the opening half an hour, latching onto a cross from David Moller Wolfe at the back post. Aymen Hussein equalised for Iraq a few moments later with a towering header that left Orjan Nyland in a heap.
The Manchester City striker restored Norway’s lead shortly before the break after a mix-up at the back. Then, in the final quarter of an hour, Odegaard teed up Leo Ostigard from a corner to double their advantage.
Thanks to the weight of the delivery, once the Genoa defender darted past Mustafa Saadoon at the near post, he only needed to make the slightest of contact with the ball, which flew into the far corner. Then, in the dying embers of stoppage time, Hussein found the net again, this time beating his own goalkeeper from close range following a goalmouth scramble.
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Haaland stole the headlines, scoring a brace on his World Cup debut, but Odegaard put in the hard yards in the middle of the park, leading Norway to a historic victory. According to the BBC, the 27-year-old midfielder completed 97.6 per cent of his passes, finding a teammate 41 times from 42 attempts.
Odegaard made quite the impression, and Mikel Arteta will have been particularly pleased to see his skipper’s quality from set pieces on display. The Norwegian doesn’t typically take corners for Arsenal, but, on Tuesday night, he proved to be more than capable of producing an excellent delivery into the box.
So, following the World Cup, the Gunners boss could entrust Odegaard with the responsibility of taking corners next season. Arsenal have been working hard to perfect the dead-ball scenario for a while now; it’s led to criticism, which the Norwegian has laughed off.
Back in December 2024, Odegaard was quizzed on his side’s corner strategy. Speaking to TNT Sports, the Gunners captain said: “It’s funny to watch. Suddenly, people start to criticise you for being good at something – that’s a bit funny.
“I think Mikel said that we want to be the best at everything we do, and set pieces are an important part of football. They’re something we really want to dominate at. We’re doing well at the moment, so we just have to keep it up and keep scoring.”
Then, in an interview with the BBC during the same period, Odegaard said: “We’re so good at it, and everyone believes that when we have a set-piece, we’re going to score. And [against Fulham] we did, and we could have scored a few more, to be honest. That’s a good thing, and we just have to keep that up.”
Nevertheless, the likes of Odegaard and Haaland now have the chance to recharge their batteries before they’re back in action. Next week, they’ll face Senegal at the MetLife Stadium, where they’ll hope for more joy from corners.
Speaking to reporters after the win over Iraq, as quoted by Flashscore, Solbakken said: “I think it will be good for them to not see me the next two days. A lot of people, a lot of players will have visits from their families.
“They can, of course, train if they want to, but if they prefer to play a round of golf, they can do that. It’s really good to have a break now.
“It has been really intense, and I think that everybody could feel that this was a big occasion and this is a tough tournament, and to be able to relax your brain and your body and to see your family, I think, is a really good thing for them.”
