Advertisement

I played with Dennis Bergkamp at Arsenal - one current player reminds me of him

Dennis Bergkamp of Arsenal celebrates scoring
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Ray Parlour has compared Martin Odegaard to Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.

The Gunners captain has been out injured with an ankle problem since the September international break with his leadership badly missed at times. The 25-year-old was absent from last month's 2-2 draw against title rivals Manchester City as well as their 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth last weekend.

Odegaard will also miss Sunday's huge Premier League clash at home to Liverpool. Defeat this weekend would see Arne Slot's team move seven points clear of Arteta's men.

And former Gunners midfielder Parlour has heaped praise on the Norwegian. The Arsenal invincible believes Odegaard has a similar impact to that of Bergkamp.

"Arsenal have really missed Odegaard," he told GiveMeSport. "I played with Dennis Bergkamp and I would put Martin in that bracket.

"His vision, weight of pass and ability to get out of tight situations reminds me of Bergkamp. Arsenal don’t really have an Odegaard backup, even though Rice can play in that role. It’s horrible when you lose such a key player."

READ MORE: Bukayo Saka decision made, Myles Lewis-Skelly to start - Arsenal line ups vs Liverpool

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Saka and Calafiori injury, Saliba absence, Arsenal vs Liverpool

In his latest programme notes, Odegaard delivered a fresh injury update on his recovery. "I’m feeling better and better each day, but when it’s an ankle injury you have ups and downs as well," he said.

"Some days you feel really good, and then sometimes you can have a little reaction. But in general it’s getting better and I feel like I’m getting closer now.

"I’ve been doing a lot of work in the gym, and was on an anti-gravity treadmill recently, which is really good because it takes the weight off. Especially at the beginning that was really good, to be running again like that when you’ve been offloading the leg and not using it as much as normal.

"That was a good feeling, helping me get back to moving in a normal way, and being able to run after not being able to do that."