Few things in football are as joyous as a pass you didn’t see coming.
Invariably, the work of a playmaker who can break down a defensive block with a single moment of magic, or a play a reverse pass that sometimes surprises even the receiver.
They are the type of deliveries Arsenal fans expected from Mesut Ozil in previous years and ones that are being witnessed at the Emirates these days from Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian’s creativity has helped Mikel Arteta’s side slice through defences in the last couple of years, and whether the passes are one of his 21 assists with Arsenal, pre-assists or through balls that don’t result in a goal, there’s a certain something Odegaard does that directly empowers these passes.
If the passing angle is too tight for Odegaard — or it simply isn’t there — the Arsenal captain uses small touches to create a better opportunity instead of forcing a pass that might be intercepted.
Let’s start with this example below, away to Norwich City in December 2021.
Here, Odegaard sees Nicolas Pepe’s movement behind the Norwich defence, but the pass that puts the winger through on goal is risky. Playing the ball through the gap in Norwich’s defence is easier to defend because the centre-backs will be closer than Pepe to the final destination of the ball, and a pass through the gap but one that is closer to the winger could easily be intercepted by Kenny McLean.
So, Odegaard decides to dribble inside, forcing McLean to react by trying to intercept the ball with his right foot while putting his body weight on the left…
… and the Norwegian uses that to play the pass between his legs to Pepe…
… whose shot is deflected and Emile Smith Rowe manages to score from close range.
Instead of playing the pass straight away, Odegaard took three extra touches and used the opponent’s reaction to his dribbling to find Pepe in a better position.
In another example against Manchester United in September 2022, Scott McTominay closes down the passing lane to Gabriel Jesus, and Odegaard’s answer is…
… to take another touch of the ball…
… before playing a quick pass with his right foot through the gap in United’s defence. The decision to use his right foot here instead of the left gives McTominay less time to react to the situation.
Odegaard’s pass reaches its destination, but Diogo Dalot beats Jesus to the ball. Fortunately for Arsenal, it drops in front of Bukayo Saka, who scores into an empty net.
We saw another example at West Ham United last month. Here, Ben White and Leandro Trossard combine to find Odegaard between the lines…
… with Saka looking to provide the Norwegian with a passing option inside the penalty area. Odegaard controls the ball with his right foot…
… then rolls it across with his left to try and find Saka’s run, which moves West Ham’s left-back, Emerson Palmieri, a couple of steps to the left…
… but instead of letting the ball roll across completely, the Norwegian stops it with his right foot.
By doing that, Odegaard creates a better passing angle — in between Emerson and Nayef Aguerd — which allows him to play the pass with his left in the space between the West Ham defenders.
Unfortunately, Saka’s chip over Alphonse Areola misses the target and denies Odegaard an assist.
Six days later against Burnley, Saka scored from an Odegaard through ball, and once again the Norwegian’s touches before the pass created a better passing angle. Here, Kai Havertz plays the ball to Odegaard…
… who controls it with his right foot and rolls it away from the Burnley midfielder.
Odegaard does this to move the ball towards the bigger space, put his body in between the ball and Josh Brownhill (Burnley’s No 8), and to be able to have more time on his next action. Had he controlled the pass with his left foot or not rolled the ball, the Burnley players would be closer to it.
Odegaard’s next touch with his left readies him to play an easy pass into Saka…
… but he takes another touch at a different angle, with Hannes Delcroix moving towards Saka.
That touch creates a better passing angle in between Burnley’s left centre-back, Maxime Esteve, and Delcroix, and in the blindside of the left-back, who doesn’t even see the pass because he is moving across to defend Saka…
… who this time awards Odegaard the assist by smashing the ball into the roof of the net.
The latest example is Arsenal’s goal against Porto in last week’s Champions League game. In the lead-up to the goal, Trossard plays the ball to Odegaard as Francisco Conceicao tracks back to press the Arsenal captain…
Odegaard controls the ball with his right foot and against Conceicao’s movement — it’s noticeable how Odegaard uses the foot that is furthest from the opponent to control the ball and doesn’t move it towards the congested space.
He then uses his left foot to dribble past Conceicao, whose body weight is moving in the other direction…
… but the through ball to Trossard isn’t as simple as it looks…
… because the passing angle either places the ball closer to Porto’s centre-backs and goalkeeper, or it could be intercepted by Pepe (Porto No 11).
Therefore, Odegaard takes another touch…
… to find a better passing angle that puts Trossard in a superior shooting position away from the Porto defenders.
From there, Trossard puts the ball into the bottom corner to score Arsenal’s only goal in the tie.
Part of Odegaard’s brilliance in these situations is his scanning before he receives the ball and between his touches — something he has worked on since he was young.
However, awareness of his surroundings needs to be complemented by making the right decisions. When the passing angles are deemed too risky, Odegaard takes more touches to find a better option.
Odegaard’s final ball might make you gasp, but what he does before that is just as impressive.
