During Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday evening, Gary Neville waxed lyrical over the depth Mikel Arteta has at his disposal.

Indeed, he was seemingly bemused at the sheer amount of options they have at the back. As the Gunners kept another clean sheet and didn’t allow the hosts to have a single shot on target, the likes of Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa, William Saliba and Piero Hincapie all didn’t start. It’s another elite backline of players.

Yet, you could also argue that is the case in midfield where Martin Odegaard is leading Bruno Guimaraes, Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Why Martin Odegaard is Arsenal's best player this season

With Arsenal reluctant to fork out big sums of money this summer, Arteta has largely headed into the new season with what he already had.

That means he needs big improvements from some of last season’s underperformers, one of which was captain Odegaard.

The Norwegian scored just one goal throughout the duration of the 2025/26 season. In short, he was a long way off his best.

Why? Well, he was still suffering from an ankle injury and it was not until the World Cup where the midfielder rediscovered his best form.

His phenomenal displays have carried on into the new campaign. Truthfully, he has looked like Arsenal’s best player.

In the Community Shield, the former Real Madrid man ran the game, supplying the pre-assist for Kai Havertz’s header and then scoring a goal himself, sitting down Gianluigi Donnarumma in style.

Odegaard’s finish a week later against Coventry lacked the same sort of class but his overall performance was sublime once again.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the whole Arsenal team have looked more fluid in the final third now their skipper is back in the groove.

Arsenal could sign a Odegaard and Lewis-Skelly hybrid

Alongside Odegaard so far this summer has been Myles Lewis-Skelly. Like his Norwegian colleague, the young Englishman has returned to prominence in the Arsenal setup and looks every bit an elite midfielder.

The way Lewis-Skelly carries the ball through midfield, the way he evades the press and the way he manipulates his body to get past opponents is simply first-class.

For now, he looks a mainstay in the middle of the park but he will need his positive performances to continue with Guimaraes, Merino and Zubimendi breathing over his shoulder.

Certainly one of the finest young midfielders in the game right now, he could he joined on his journey to stardom by Leicester City teenager Louis Page.

Indeed, with just hours to go before the transer window closes, Ben Jacobs has reported that the Gunners are rivalling Manchester United for the signing of the Foxes midfielder.

United are in talks to sign the player while Arsenal are also working on a deal and keeping a close eye on developments as we enter the final knockings of the window.

Aged just 18, Page would continue a strong summer of youth recruitment for the Gunners who recently signed James Scanlon from United and Igor Tyjon from Blackburn Rovers over the weekend.

Page, however, is perhaps the most talented of the lot, notably hailed as the "next Jude Bellingham" by the Standard’s Alex Young. He also won the Championship’s EFL Apprentice of the Year award for his displays in 2025/26.

He may well have been part of a relegated Leicester team but he caught the eye in the engine room, playing 18 times in the league.

So, what’s he about? Well, he’s something of a hybrid between Odegaard and Lewis-Skelly. Page is left-footed and is comfortable operating in the no.10 role like Odegaard but also as an 8 like Lewis-Skelly.

In the words of BBC Radio Leiester’s Owynn Palmer-Atkin, he is an “elegant footballer” and it’s clear to see when he’s in possession how he’s like the Arsenal captain. He possesses the ability to carve open a defence like a hot knife through butter.

Palmer-Atkin further outlines that Page ‘has a brilliant trait that many managers look for now; the ability to travel through the lines with the ball at his feet and the vision to also find a killer pass.’

That sounds so much like Lewis-Skelly. Just watching him in action gives you the same feeling. Page travels through the centre of the pitch in a very similar fashion to the Arsenal wonderkid, gliding across the turf and evading opponents with such ease.

So, while this may not be the most exciting addition of all time, he could well add plenty to Arteta’s midfield in a few years.