Last Friday Arsenal announced the signing of Norwegian international Martin Ødegaard from Real Madrid on a permanent deal reportedly worth 35 million euros. The highly touted 22-year-old spent half of last season on loan at the North London outfit and was one of The Gunners’ top chance creators.

Manager Mikel Arteta spoke about Ødegaard’s impact on the team last season in his Friday press conference saying, “He made us better, we needed more options, alternatives, creativity and players that can be morals for this football club.”

This quote sums up Ødegaard very well, a player with both a wealth of experience and a player who fills a gap in creativity that Arsenal have clearly lacked, even with the emergence of attacking midfielder Emile Smith Rowe last December. Below are four different evaluations of Martin Ødegaard from four different perspectives: The Eye Test, Underlying Statistics, Heat Maps, and Intangibles to Consider. 

The Eye Test