The two best players in England are Norwegian. In the Premier League, the world’s richest and most popular league, where players from all over the globe want to try their hand, the two leading profiles are not from London or Paris or Rio de Janeiro. They grew up in Bryne and Drammen. These are not empty words from the Norwegian press. There is no judgment from fans in bars and living rooms up here in the north. This is the cold, calculated assessment of the biggest UK gaming companies. If you put money on who will be the player of the year in England, you get the lowest profit if you go for Erling Haaland or Martin Ødegaard. Before the “series final” between Manchester City and Arsenal tonight (Wednesday), the two deserve their status as favourites. This is surreal in itself. Now it’s time to pinch your arm. But which of them would have deserved the award if the votes were to be cast now? Planet Erling You will definitely get the least in return if you bet on Haaland. There are several awards for England Player of the Year: one is voted for by the players, another by the press, a third is awarded by a panel for Premier League performances. All three can quickly go to the same man. It is easy to place too much emphasis on goals in such ratings. Here, however, the numbers are extreme. In the league, Haaland has 32 goals with eight rounds remaining, and needs three more to beat the Premier League record of Alan Shearer and Andy Cole. Nobody can touch Dixie Dean, who scored 60 goals for Everton in the top division in 1927/28, but Haaland has not only wreaked havoc in the series. THE GOAL KING: Erling Braut Haaland has scored this season. Photo: Reuters If you look at scores in all tournaments, Haaland lives on a planet of his own. In Europe, his closest challenger is Kylian Mbappé, the French 24-year-old at Paris Saint-Germain. Haaland has scored 48 goals. Mbappé has scored 34 goals. The closest player in England is Marcus Rashford with 28 goals. Ødegaard? He has 12 goals. City are on course to win all three major trophies: the League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. It could be the second English “triple” in history after Manchester United’s achievement in 1999. If you take all the goals into account, it is impossible to put Ødegaard ahead of Haaland. Or is it? More than just goals The debate is not that simple. You can’t just look at scores. The other side of Haaland’s goal records is that he contributes little else; he has six assists in total, he is not involved in the game, and he leaves almost all of the creative responsibility to his teammates. Thus, it is just nonsense to base everything on the top scorer list. Goals in the Premier League 32 – Erling Haaland 24 – Harry Kane 19 – Ivan Toney 16 – Mohamed Salah 15 – Gabriel Martinelli 15 – Marcus Rashford 14 – Ollie Watkins 13 – Bukayo Saka 12 – Martin Ødegaard However, these numbers take on a different meaning when taken with Ødegaard’s role. Everyone above him on the list are forwards or wings. Six of them take penalties. Ødegaard is an inside runner, a more defensive position that requires more work towards home. What if you only look at central midfielders? Then Ødegaard is superb. Goals by central midfielders 12 – Martin Ødegaard 9 – James Maddison 8 – Alexis Mac Allister 7 – Philip Billing 7 – Eberechi Eze 7 – James Ward-Prowse 6 – Rúben Neves 6 – Pascal Gross You can say that Haaland and Ødegaard are top scorers in their roles. Then there is also Ødegaard’s contribution to all the other parts of the game. First, he is a captain; coach Mikel Arteta has said he reflects the team’s values ”in the best possible way”. Secondly, he is Arsenal’s playmaker. It is he who controls the attacks, finds the small spaces and hits the redemptive passes. Thirdly, he contributes enormously in the pressing game. In March it emerged that he had won the ball in the top third of the pitch by far the most times – not just at Arsenal, but among all the players in the five major European leagues. This is a factor both when comparing Ødegaard with Haaland and with the more offensive teammates at Arsenal. Ødegaard is a goalscorer, leader, playmaker and rough worker. While Haaland contributes strongly in one phase of the game, Ødegaard is involved in everything. CAPTAIN: While Haaland contributes strongly in one phase of the game, Ødegaard is involved in everything. Photo: DYLAN MARTINEZ / Reuters New Arsenal Then you have the achievements of City and Arsenal as a team. Haaland could not do much more until now, with buckets of goals and the triple in his sights. But Ødegaard has been part of a far greater transformation than Haaland. Haaland came to the table in City. He went straight into the best team, with playmakers, or court masters, who have served him delicate passes every week. Although City seem unstoppable, they now have three points less than they had after 30 league games last year. And Arsenal? They have 18 points more. They finished fifth last year, 24 points behind City. Now the two fight side by side. Ødegaard has been part of this entire journey, which makes one thing clear: Ødegaard has been more important to Arsenal than Haaland has been to City. Even duel Does this mean that Ødegaard should be the player of the year in England? If you only look at the Premier League, you can say yes. Although others have been more productive – Bukayo Saka, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane – none have lifted their teams as much as Ødegaard. However, it is Haaland’s performances in all tournaments that make him the favourite. Ødegaard has played 16 minutes in the English cups. He has seven matches without a goal in the Europa League, where Arsenal went out in the round of 16 against Sporting Lisbon. Haaland has scored 12 goals in the Champions League. He has stuffed Leipzig and Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds. It gives him a dimension that no one can match. He will probably get the player of the year award and nobody will be able to protest much. But the duel between the two stars is more even than it might first appear. Haaland has been the best. Ødegaard has been the most important.
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Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Ødegaard – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
