Martin Odegaard is in the form of his life, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has credited the captain's resurgence to restored fitness and a deliberately elevated position within the team's attacking structure.

Odegaard struck the only goal of the game on Wednesday as Arsenal claimed a 1-0 UEFA Champions League victory at Napoli, adding to his clinching effort against Chelsea in the Premier League just days earlier. The Norwegian now has four goals in five appearances across all competitions this season — a remarkable return for a player who managed only once in the whole of an injury-ravaged 2025/26 campaign.

Freedom to attack

Arteta was frank about the shift in his captain's output when speaking to reporters after the final whistle at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. "First of all he needs to be available and last year he missed so many games through injuries," the Arsenal head coach said.

Beyond fitness, Arteta pointed to new combinations and a licence to push higher up the pitch as key factors. "He can start to go by different heights in the team, especially in the attacking phase, and when we get him into those positions he's a really dangerous player," Arteta explained.

The numbers back that up. Odegaard's touches inside the opposition box have climbed from 2.5 per 90 minutes last season to 4.3 per 90 minutes this term — a sharp increase that reflects how much more frequently he is arriving in threatening areas.

Team-mates enabling the transformation

Arteta suggested that improvements elsewhere in Arsenal's squad have been central to unlocking Odegaard's best form. "We have a lot of players that can take the ball there and progress the ball much better than we did in the past," the manager said. "When that happens, [Odegaard] needs to take different heights and angles and positions in order to disorganise the opponent and he's done that really well."

Summer signing Christos Tzolis has been a significant enabler, already accumulating four assists — three of which have directly led to Odegaard goals, including the winner in Naples. The broader Arsenal attack also impressed, with the side registering 26 shots — their highest tally on record in European competition since 2003/04 — and an expected goals figure of 4.05.

A decisive performer

Odegaard's winning strike, finished from the edge of the box after a 29-pass move, was characteristic of his renewed authority. By the final whistle he had registered more touches, more passes, and more chances created than any other player on the field — Napoli simply could not contain him.

His scooped pass to release Ben White for one of Arsenal's clearest openings highlighted an ingenuity that went far beyond goalscoring alone, and Arteta was eager to celebrate that wider contribution.

"Martin is contributing goals," Arteta said. "That is obviously impacting results which is what we want from our attacking players, to be decisive, and certainly he was that today."

Arteta also touched on the mental dimension of Odegaard's revival. "The players with the mindset to decide a game and play with personality. To keep taking chances and risks — he's getting into those positions much more in recent games and now you feel he has the emotional state that he knows the ball can go in."