Jermaine Pennant has heaped praise on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and his performances this season.

The Gunners are flying at the moment in the Premier League. They’ve lost just one game since the start of the campaign, and they showed tremendous character to come from behind to beat West Ham United on Boxing Day.

Skipper Odegaard was outstanding in that game and won the Man of the Match award.

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TalkSPORT pundit raves about Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard

Arsenal initially signed Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid in January 2020.

The Norwegian had a decent spell at the Emirates, but he only managed two goals and two assists. That made many pundits urge Arsenal to stay away from him, but Mikel Arteta was having none of it.

The Arsenal boss made Odegaard’s loan deal permanent in the following summer for £30 million (Sky Sports). That looks like an absolute bargain now.

Odegaard has been one of Arsenal’s best players since the start of this season. He’s involved in almost everything they do in attack and is their top scorer as well.

Pennant has been really impressed. He said on talkSPORT: “It’s (Arsenal) probably one of the best midfields at the moment.

“Odegaard – he has come out of nowhere. He has come out of the blocks absolutely flying.”

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Arsenal have an absolutely electric front three – Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka. They are a nightmare for defenders, but the Gunners’ top scorer in the league this season, surprisingly, is Odegaard.

The Norwegian has six goals and four assists to his name this season in 14 Premier League starts. He pulls the strings from the number 10 role every game, and he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Gunners have looked so good.

Arsenal are currently on top of the Premier League table, seven points ahead of second-place Newcastle United. Nobody expected that before the season started, but they completely deserve to be where they are.

Odegaard has played a massive part in that, and if he can carry this on until the end of the season, Arsenal can achieve something really special.

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Arsenal set to complete huge signing this week for below asking price after Arteta gives green light

Arsenal could finalise a deal for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk by the end of the week, it has been claimed.

Arsenal have been locked in intense negotiations with Shakhtar for the highly-rated Ukraine international, who has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions this season.

Shakhtar Donetsk director of football Darijo Srna had previously warned Arsenal that it would take a huge transfer fee – comparable to the £100m figure Manchester City spent on Jack Grealish – to sign Mudryk.

However, behind closed doors Shakhtar’s asking price is believed to be significantly lower.

According to Football Insider, the Ukrainian club are seeking more than £60m for Mudryk.

Arsenal have submitted a formal offer worth more than £45m after Mikel Arteta gave the “green light” to sign the winger.

Arsenal’s offer also includes bonuses and add-ons based but falls short of the Shakhtar’s asking price.

While Mudryk is under contract with Shakhtar until 2026, the Ukrainian club have accepted they will have to sell their star player.

Arsenal are said to be “in the driving seat to complete a deal” and are pushing to finalise it “by the end of the week”.

Mudryk drops more Arsenal transfer hints

Mudryk is keen to join Arsenal and has dropped a number of hints that he is ready to move to the Emirates.

Having previously praised the team’s style of play under Arteta, Mudryk told CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs that he wouldn’t be able to turn the club down if they came calling.

“In the winter we will see [regarding future]. There was a lot of discussion about the transfer, about the clubs who want me. But it’s normal,” said Mudryk.

“Now, I’m at Shakhtar and I want to play in this team. I love this team. I love every guy in this team. Shakhtar is now my home, but for me it’s very important that all my thoughts are only about Shakhtar.

“I think every guy dreams about the Premier League.”

Asked about Arsenal in particular, he added: “Yes, from my side I can’t say no [to Arsenal].”

Mudryk was also spotted in Dubai earlier this month at the same time as the Gunners squad during the recent winter break.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, he posted a video of himself watching Arsenal’s Premier League game against West Ham to his Instagram account shortly before posting another cryptic story.

Arsenal fans will hope the club is able to complete the deal for Mudryk before the transfer window officially opens on January 1.

SOURCE: tbrfootball.com – sportbible.com