Arsenal are flying in the Premier League this year, and, say this bit quietly, they might actually get the job done this time.
Mikel Arteta's men weathered their festive period slump and have since blown teams away, scoring three or more goals in six of their last eight league games.
It's not just on the domestic front that the Gunners look dangerous, though. Their penalty shootout win over Porto in the Champions League showed a steely side that's been missing since the days of Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.
David Raya might've received the most plaudits thanks to his shot-stopping heroics – and rightly so – but it was a performance in the model of the club's young captain, Martin Odegaard, who might just be playing the best football he has in an Arsenal shirt at the moment.
Martin Odegaard's season in numbers
Odegaard is a player who has only recently begun receiving the sort of praise that he should have been getting from pundits a lot earlier in his Arsenal career.
Instead of boring comments about how Declan Rice should take the captaincy off of him, he is being spoken about as one of the best players in the country, which is precisely what he is.
Last season, the Norwegian maestro matched the record for the number of non-penalty goals scored by an out-and-out midfielder, finishing the campaign with 15 goals and seven assists in 45 appearances.
Appearances
20
40
45
36
Goals
2
7
15
9
Assists
2
5
7
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.20
0.30
0.48
0.44
This year, the 25-year-old has racked up nine goals and seven assists in 36 outings, and while that's a relatively similar average of 0.44 goal involvements per game, he has been much more effective overall.
Whether it's a quick one-two with Bukayo Saka on the right, an exquisite through ball for Gabriel Martinelli to latch onto out on the left, or just some mesmeric close control to keep possession, he does so much for the side, and often in such aesthetically pleasing ways.
And then there is his captaincy style. He's not your archetypal drill Sergeant, bellowing orders at his teammates a la Roy Keane, but he doesn't need to be in the modern game, and the fact that he was named captain of Norway and Arsenal by age 23 shows he has the respect of those he plays with.
Moreover, how he played against Porto – assisting Leandro Trossard beautifully – and the manner in which he kicked off the team's penalty shootout is a perfect example of his leadership credentials and nerves of steel.
In all, the Gunners are incredibly lucky to have a player like Odegaard in their team and on the books, for that matter, as according to Football Transfers' Expected Value model, the former Real Madrid ace is worth around €70m, which is about £60m, or £26m more than the £34m they paid for him.
However, that's still less than a former Arsenal midfielder would cost the team in today's market.
How much Mesut Ozil would be worth in 2024
Yes, Arsenal's midfield general from the mid-2010s, Mesut Ozil, would cost even more than Odegaard in the modern market despite the Norwegian's talismanic qualities. Still, we'll get to the price in a moment.
The World Cup winner endured a troublesome conclusion to his time in north London, falling out with Arteta and spending considerable time sitting on the sidelines before finally moving to Fenerbahçe in Turkey. However, before it all fell apart, he was extraordinary.
In all, the Gelsenkirchen-born "artist," as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, made 254 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 44 goals and providing 79 assists.
In his first season in N5, the 5 foot 11 genius played a crucial role in ending the club's eight-year trophy drought, starting four of the six games in the 2014 FA Cup run, including the final, in which he played 106 minutes.
The 92-capped international won another three FA Cups in his time at the club, alongside two Community Shields, and produced some unreal moments of magic, such as his utterly ridiculous solo goal against Ludogorets in the Champions League.
He may not have won the league or any European silverware while in London, but his impact on Arsenal for those first few years was undeniable, and had he been playing in a better team, like the ones that came before or after him, he may well have won it all in red and white.
So, with all of that said, how much would he cost in today's money? And, for that matter, how would we know? Well, thanks to the number whizzes and financial boffins at Totally Money, that's how.
In the case of Ozil, the £42m the Gunners paid for him in 2013 would now be worth around £77.5m, comfortably beating the current Arsenal captain's valuation of £60m from Football Transfers.
It's absurd to think that the German's transfer fee has almost doubled in the space of nine and a half years, and it begs the question, how much will Odegaard be worth in 2034?
Arsenal's amazing £10m signing would now be worth more than Rice in 2024
An Arsenal star of yesteryear would be worth more than Declan Rice in the modern market.
ByMatt Dawson
