Martin Ødegaard

Both are left-footed playmakers who pair creation with heavy out-of-possession work. Ødegaard links midfield to attack and made more pressures than any Arsenal teammate in 2024-25. Bernardo, City's captain in 2025-26 before his June 2026 move to Real Madrid, kept possession under pressure in deeper zones, as in the 3-0 win over Liverpool in November 2025.

Ødegaard's linking and final-third passing at Arsenal echo David Silva at City in 2017–19, when he worked as one of two free eights in the half-spaces. In the 7-2 win over Stoke in October 2017, Silva completed 76 passes, many of them short ones in the final third. The comparison concerns tempo and combination play, not City's trophies.