Highlights

• Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is one of the best midfielders in the world right now.
• His unique abilities as an elite footballer meant that a Virtual Reality company had to change their settings to keep up.
• Odegaard's fine displays and exquisite vision had led to widespread praise from within Arsenal and the wider footballing community.

Martin Odegaard is so good at reading the game that a company was once forced to change the design of their product after he tried it. Indeed, the Arsenal captain has apparently mastered the art of scanning to the point that even Virtual Reality (VR) technology struggles to keep up with him at times.

That's what Geir Jordet – the founder of VR football app 'Be Your Best' – found after he reached out to the Norwegian to get him to test the tech. It's used by players to improve their vision, decision-making and cognitive skills, by recreating various scenarios from real-life games.

This allows players to perfect their craft so they aren't looking at the wrong moments. It tracks the amount of times footballers scan the environment, when they check their surroundings, and the decisions they make as a result.

Odegaard Spots Problem with VR

Arsenal captain wanted settings sped up

According to its chief executive Andreas Olsen, Odegaard soon encountered a problem when first using the technology. He explained to Sky Sports how the Arsenal star needed it to be sped up and put on a higher difficult, saying:

"When he used it, one of the product development features added as a result was because he mentioned that he wanted to have a higher difficulty. He was very humble and respectful when doing the scenarios but instead of wanting it set at 100 per cent speed, he asked if he could do it at 120 per cent.

"Now we have a slider where you take the speed up or down based on the actual speed of the scenario."

Olsen, who has worked in the tech industry for many years, noted how Odegaard was very polite in terms of his response. And it seems the company were more than happy to take the feedback back on board as they made a change to the VR settings after listening to the elite footballer.

Martin Odegaard's leading the way for Arsenal

The 'Ronnie O'Sullivan' of football

Since arriving in north London, initially on loan, Odegaard has gone from strength to strength in an Arsenal shirt, regularly earning rave reviews for his performances. Under Mikel Arteta, the 25-year-old has become club captain, one of the best midfielders in the league, and is hoping to lead the Gunners to their first Premier League title in 20 years.

He has even been compared to snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan for his supernatural vision on the ball. That is the verdict of Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, who claims that no one else is able to read the game like he does. He previously said:

"When you talk about people seeing pictures, Martin Odegaard knows what he is doing before this ball comes he knows what he's doing and [Gabriel] Martinelli knows what he is doing and he's away. He is running with pace full pelt with the ball.

"That is Ronnie O'Sullivan in football, he's looking at the pots and that is what Martin Odegaard does. A lot of people don't see that pass, he is probably the only player on the pitch who sees that."

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: At the age of 15 years and 300 days, Odegaard became the youngest player to ever play in a European Championship qualifier (doing so for Norway).

By now, everyone knows just how good Odegaard can be with the ball at his feet, but he also has an incredible work rate. As captain, it appears he leads by example on multiple fronts, with Arteta explaining how the midfielder helps drive the culture and standards for his players:

"He's made huge steps, his presence, the way he’s behaving himself in front of the group and the standard that he sets is outstanding. He’s got a lot of players as well to support him and the rest to follow with him."

Speaking after Odegaard scored in a win vs Luton Town in April 2024, Arteta added: "He's a really important player – we needed that balance and as well the chemistry that certain players have because it’s how they train as well, and how we build those connections and relationships, and Martin is there to connect everything well in how we play."

Having joined Real Madrid when he was still 16, big things were expected of the midfielder from a young age. And it looked as though Odegaard was perhaps destined to lose his way in the world of top-level football after spending most of his time out on loan.

At Arsenal, however, he has found his best form and is now truly living up to all expectations. His talent has always been undoubted, and this anecdote about his experience with VR just goes to prove that the 25-year-old sees things quicker than most.

Stats via SofaScore (as of 13/04/24).