‘The Odegaard Shuffle’ is the new ‘Ozil chop’ – and he is the most creative player in Europe

Surrounded by blue and white shirts on the edge of the penalty area, Martin Odegaard held the ball for three seconds. For two and a half of those seconds, there was no pass available to the Arsenal captain. There is no way through the block created by the Porto defenders.

But then, at the crucial moment, it was Odegaard who made the smallest touch. A tiny change on the ball and outside of his left foot, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Suddenly, like a single ray of light finding a crack in the wall, the gap appeared. The ball was gone, Leandro Trossard was in, and Arsenal had found the goal.

It was an assist straight from Odegaard’s playbook. Europe’s most creative footballer can unlock a defense in all sorts of ways but one of his favorite tricks seems to be this little shuffle of the ball, just half a yard, to create the angle he needs . Speed ​​of thought, speed of foot. Where Mesut Ozil had ‘The Ozil chop’, where he kicked the top of the ball into the turf to bounce it, Arsenal’s creative chief has ‘The Odegaard Shuffle’.

Apart from the penalty shootout, in which goalkeeper David Raya was the star, this display of defensive genius had the upper hand in another night where Odegaard showed Arsenal the way. Victory took Mikel Arteta’s side into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010, and reaffirmed Odegaard’s status as the leader this club has been seeking for years.

In the Premier League this season, Odegaard has created 62 chances from open play, the most of any player in Europe’s top five leagues. Arsenal’s attacks flow through the Norwegian, who operates with a subtlety and intricacy that makes him consistently effective in even the tightest areas.

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As he showed with that assist for Trossard, ball manipulation is one of Odegaard’s most important attributes. In terms of style, this is what sets him apart from other top players in the Premier League, such as Kevin De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes.

Generally, the likes of De Bruyne and Fernandes will get the ball at their feet and flick a pass forward, with power and precision. In contrast, Odegaard is often at his greatest danger when the ball is moving under his studs.

His ability to take many touches in quick succession, shuffling from right foot to left, from the inside of his foot to the outside, is often the passing lanes on the edge of the penalty area .

Trossard’s pass was far from the first example. Against Burnley a few weeks ago, Odegaard’s feet touched the ball four times in less than two seconds as he set up a goal for Bukayo Saka. It’s a quick step, made by a pitter patter, and can make all the difference in a game where timing and position are everything.

Such is the speed of Odegaard’s footwork, he is sometimes able to change the angle of the ball and play a pass in one move. Physically, ankle flexibility and core strength are a virtue. One of these “flip-flap” passes, to Eddie Nketiah against Wolves earlier this season, would have been one of the assists of the season if the ball was in the net.

A similar brilliant move almost resulted in a goal for Granit Xhaka against Manchester United last season, prompting collective approval on social media.

A shuffling skill like this cannot be described as a dribble. Odegaard is not a player who excels at opponents, as a winger like Saka would. Instead he uses his technical prowess to draw defenders around, dislodge them and open up avenues where there were none before. It is small space football, for a team that is forced to work in small spaces so often.

One couldn’t help but wonder what Pepe, the 41-year-old warrior in Porto’s defence, made of Odegaard’s performance. The two were teammates at Real Madrid in the past, at a very different time in Odegaard’s life. He was 16 when he joined Madrid and never settled at the club, where he first trained with the first team and played games with the reserve team. It was an arrangement that made it challenging for Odegaard to establish himself with senior players such as Pepe.

But the boy has become a man now and, when he and Pepe went on to throw the medal before the penalty, they did so as the front men of their respective teams. Odegaard won the toss, chose to shoot first, took that first penalty and smashed it into the corner. That is leadership, and that is what Arsenal have come to expect from their maestro in the fleet.