‘He’s fit and available’ – Arteta on Arsenal star’s positive progress

Mikel Arteta is confident that Martin Odegaard will get back to his best this season after a frustrating last campaign.

Odegaard struggled with injury problems last season and did not manage to hit the level of form that had previously established as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders.

Arteta has, however, been encouraged by what he has seen from him during the opening weeks of the new season and believes the player’s fitness will provide the foundation for further improvement.

“He’s fit and available, I think that’s the baseline,” Arteta responded when asked what has been the difference for Odegaard so far this season.

“If you’re fit and available, you have a chance to perform. Last season he had too many incidents where it didn’t allow him to have any consistency.

“For a player like Martin, the relationship that he has around him is extremely important.

“I’m very, very pleased with what I’ve seen in the first few weeks, and we know he can maintain and improve that level.”