Ryan Giggs, a legendary figure at Manchester United, has praised Martin Odegaard for his strong start to the 2026/27 season and named the Norwegian midfielder as his favorite player at Arsenal. Odegaard had a less impactful season last year, scoring one goal and providing six assists during Arsenal’s Premier League title-winning campaign. This was a decline compared to his previous two seasons, where he was a key goal threat and twice named Arsenal’s Player of the Season. This season, Odegaard has been in fine form, scoring Arsenal’s third goal in the Community Shield and finding the net in matches against Coventry City and Chelsea in the Premier League. He also scored the winning goal in Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Napoli. However, he had a more subdued role in the 2-0 victory over Sunderland at the weekend. Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, might consider resting Odegaard for the midweek Carabao Cup match against Ipswich, given the upcoming Premier League clash against Brighton four days later. Giggs, who won the Premier League 13 times with Manchester United, discussed Arsenal’s title defense on the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel. When asked to name his favorite player in Arteta’s squad, Giggs said: "Odegaard at the moment. It looks like he's controlling games to me, getting it off the back four, running in behind. He's everywhere! He wins the ball back, he's defensively very good. Yeah, he just looks strong." Giggs also noted that Arsenal’s performance against Sunderland showed they are prepared to defend their title. He described the match as challenging, pointing out that Sunderland is a strong team with an electric atmosphere. He also remarked that Arsenal’s ability to make multiple substitutions without weakening their squad suggests they are in good shape. Giggs acknowledged that defending a title is difficult, as teams are motivated to beat the reigning champions. He noted that some players may question whether they need to go through the same challenges again, citing Arsenal’s late-season struggles last term as an example of how difficult it is to maintain success. Arsenal had previously defeated Brighton twice in the 2025/26 season, winning 2-0 at the Emirates and 2-1 on the south coast. Brighton has had a mixed start to the 2026/27 campaign, with a win, a draw, and a loss following their 4-0 victory over Aston Villa on the opening weekend.