“He’s a very lazy player, he’s worst than Kai Havertz but still yet Arteta can’t do without him”- Arsenal professional senior scout reveal his first impression of Arsenal’s important big game player and says he’s far more lazier than Kai Havertz and Smith Rowe

“He’s a very lazy player, he’s worst than Kai Havertz but still yet Arteta can’t do without him”- Arsenal professional senior scout reveal his first impression of Arsenal’s important big game player and says he’s far more lazier than Kai Havertz and Smith Rowe

‘Lazy and Disinterested’ – Exclusive: Senior scout reveals first impression of Arsenal superstar

Arsenal star Martin Odegaard was a sensational talent as a teenager during his time at Norwegian side Stromsgodset but he was also “lazy”, Football Insider has been told.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Bryan King, who was the Scandinavian senior scout of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton for 28 years, revealed that the midfielder appeared “disinterested” in front of talent spotters from European giants including Bayern Munich and Man United.

Odegaard rose through the ranks at Stromsgodset before earning his big move to Real Madrid in 2015 but never managed to become a mainstay at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He has since gone on to flourish at Vitesse and Real Sociedad before joining Arsenal initially on loan in 2021, where he has developed into one of the Premier League’s outstanding playmakers.

King, who was the Scandinavian scout for Everton at the time and is very well connected in elite European football circles, admitted he was not too impressed by his early impressions of Odegaard.

“Martin was 14 years old playing with tremendous skill and ability when I first saw him,” King told the Inside Track.

“But he was lazy! He was a lazy boy.

“It was about minus six degrees outside and we were freezing.

“So I was expecting Martin to run about a bit just to keep warm.

“Looking at him on that day, you would have said ‘no’ (to signing him).

“He looked disinterested and looked like he shouldn’t have been there.

“He was obviously too good to be there – this was the south of Norway playing the north of Norway playing for the final selection for the national team.

“It was strange the fact that by the time he was 15, he was playing in the first team in the top flight of the Norwegian league.

“I had a meeting with his father and with him.

“As I went out, Bayern Munich had come in, and Man City and then Man United, and so on.

“We watched him improve consistently at Stromsgodset and then the deal happened with Real Madrid.”

Odegaard earned his move to Arsenal following a successful loan spell and has since become their permanent club captain.

In other news, Sources: Bournemouth ‘braced for offer’ for first-team star as Arsenal swoop