Ahead of Arsenal's trip to Benfica, Mikel Arteta had said Martin Odegaard had "the potential to be one of the best". 

"I followed him very closely when he was at Real Sociedad and he was really impressive over there for long periods," Arteta said. 

The young Norwegian was always going to be under heavy scrutiny for the first leg of the Europa League tie as he made his first start for his new club in the competition. 

It was, in fact, another of the north Londoners' prodigious young talents who scored the vital away goal, with Bukayo Saka's tap-in surviving a VAR check. 

There was plenty of excitement surrounding Odegaard's display nonetheless. The 22-year-old played a visionary pass in the build-up to Saka's goal, slicing open the Benfica defence. 

What stands out from his highlights was his ability to keep possession under pressure in the final third and his eye for an assist. It's no exaggeration to say there were shades of Mesut Ozil in some of his passes (and yes, we're talking peak Ozil, not the strange imposter who left for Fenerbahce in January...)

Odegaard's highlights v Benfica

Check out the video of his display below: 

Caution always needs to be applied to overhyping any young player - but Odegaard knows that better than most. 

The hysteria that surrounded the midfielder as a teenager was the main reason for his move to Real Madrid and with hindsight, it came too early in his career. 

Now, there did seem to be a chance of him forcing his way into Zinedine Zidane's plans this season, but it seems the starlet has had enough. 

Zidane insisted he wanted him to stay, but Odegaard demanded he be allowed to join Arsenal and get some more regular playing time. 

“He wanted to leave, we have spoken about it two or three times,” Zidane said, per Marca. 

“He is a player who wants to play. Martin wanted to leave, he wanted to get minutes and chances elsewhere. The player demanded it. I told him to stay and fight, but it wasn’t to be.

“In the end it is everyone’s decision. I hope he is happy.”