Considered one of the best midfielders in the world, [ 4 ] he is known for his technique, dribbling ability, vision and range of passing. He was announced as the club's captain in , and won the Arsenal Player of the Season award in his following two seasons as a Gunner. He assumed the full captaincy of Norway in March He trained and played with older boys. The other players on the team, and opponents, were two to three years older. Good choices. Good touch, smart in position game".
He mostly played left back, as the coaches felt this would give him a positive experience with many ball touches while still playing against physically much stronger players.
The best year-olds in the country were gathered for a tournament between the top clubs It was definitely not the first time he had astonished his opponents or the spectators. He was three or four years younger than the others. It was impossible not to realize that we were witnessing something out of the ordinary.
The competition rules state that to play in Tippeligaen , players must have a professional contract to be eligible. Aged 15 years and days, he became the youngest footballer ever to play in Tippeligaen. In late July, an away match at Sandnes Ulf prompted serious discussion in national newspapers VG , [ 27 ] Dagbladet [ 28 ] and Aftenposten , [ 29 ] on his possible call-up to the Norwegian national team.
He was also fouled for a penalty which was missed by a teammate. In December , during the Norwegian close season, he trained with the first teams at Liverpool , [ 34 ] Bayern Munich [ 35 ] and visited Arsenal 's London Colney. He would play for the latter team, which was managed by Zinedine Zidane at the time. He made his unofficial debut for the reserves on 4 February, in a 3—3 friendly draw with Beijing Guoan. He was subsequently named in the first team's Champions League squad.
