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One league goal in 24 appearances tanked every argument that Odegaard was still elite, and three matchweeks into this season he has already erased that memory completely. He has scored in the Community Shield and twice in the league already, including a comeback winner against Chelsea at home. This is not a story about a better Arsenal squad built around him; it is about one player finally getting healthy again after months of frustration. The turnaround traces back to a single word Mikel Arteta kept repeating after full time: fitness.
Last season Odegaard finished with a single Premier League goal, scored on 27 December against Brighton, across 24 total appearances in all competitions. Fast forward to this campaign and he netted in the Community Shield demolition of Manchester City on 16 August, opened his league account in the 3-0 rout of Coventry City on 21 August, then struck the winner in a 2-1 comeback against Chelsea on 6 September.
Three goals in four appearances is a complete reversal of last year’s numbers, and it has arrived without any real change to the players around him. The question now is not whether the form is real; it is how long it can possibly last through a demanding season. Arsenal fans have watched this captain look anonymous for entire matches before, which is why the early signs matter this time.
Three matches, three wins, six goals scored, one conceded, and Arsenal sit top of the table on nine points after the opening month. Odegaard has scored in two of those three games, including the winner against Chelsea after Arsenal trailed inside the first 77 seconds of that match.
He is creating significantly more shooting chances per 90 minutes than at any point in the second half of last season, arriving into the penalty area with the same regularity that defined his 15-goal campaign back in 2022/23. That version of Odegaard looked gone for good only twelve months ago, replaced by a hesitant passenger who rarely threatened the box. The player Arsenal are watching now bears almost no resemblance to that shadow of a season.
The explanation Arteta gave immediately after the Chelsea win was blunt: fitness. Odegaard missed large stretches of last season with a persistent shoulder problem, at one point becoming the first player in Premier League history to be substituted before half-time in three consecutive starts.
He returned for pre-season fully fit, played at the World Cup with Norway over the summer, and arrived back at the Emirates carrying real momentum into the new campaign. Odegaard, Saka and Havertz are finally starting together again, only the second time that specific trio has done so since December 2024, and the chemistry between them is opening space for their captain to attack freely. His personal life has settled too, and a settled captain running forward with conviction looks like a different player.
The close season conversation centred almost entirely on whether Arsenal needed a marquee striker after their Champions League final exit on penalties. They declined to buy one, and plenty of critics questioned the squad’s firepower heading into a fresh title challenge without reinforcements up front.
The counter-argument that Viktor Gyökeres, who scored more than ten league goals in his debut season, combined with a fully fit Odegaard operating at his natural rate from midfield, covers that exact gap, is already being proven right through three matches. The attack never needed another forward bought in from outside; it needed this specific midfielder restored to full health and confidence.
Arsenal won the league in 2025/26 with Odegaard performing well below his usual ceiling for most of the campaign. They are a perfect nine points from nine games so far, with him playing at his best right when it matters.
If he stays fit and keeps producing at this rate, the Arsenal Odegaard Premier League 2026 form story becomes the difference between merely defending a title and dominating one outright from the front. Three matchweeks are not a full season by any measure, but for a captain who looked finished twelve months ago, this start says everything about what has genuinely changed inside this Arsenal squad.
Can Odegaard sustain this scoring rate across a full season, or was Chelsea just a purple patch? Drop your take in the comments below.
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How many goals has Martin Odegaard scored this season?
Odegaard has scored three goals in Arsenal’s first four competitive matches of the season. That tally includes the Community Shield against Manchester City and two Premier League goals against Coventry City and Chelsea.
Why didn’t Arsenal sign a new striker last summer?
Arsenal backed Viktor Gyökeres after his strong debut season instead of signing a new forward. They trusted that a fully fit Odegaard would add the midfield goals that were missing throughout 2025/26.
What position does Martin Odegaard play for Arsenal?
Odegaard plays as Arsenal’s number ten and captain, with licence to arrive late into the box. Saka and Havertz pull defenders wide, opening the half-spaces he thrives in centrally.
Who scored the goals in Arsenal’s win over Chelsea?
Kai Havertz equalised before Martin Odegaard scored the winner five minutes into the second half. Chelsea had led inside 77 seconds before Arsenal completed the comeback at home.
How many Premier League games has Arsenal won this season?
Arsenal have won all three of their opening Premier League matches this season. They lead the table on nine points after scoring six goals and conceding just one.
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