Just over three years ago, Martin Odegaard joined a Zoom call that would change his career.
On the call was Mikel Arteta and, after a passionate pitch, Odegaard decided to leave Real Madrid and join Arsenal on loan.
That move became permanent six months later, and this weekend the Norwegian can complete a remarkable rise by captaining Arsenal to their first title in 20 years.
That would inevitably lead to comparisons with the Invincibles side, who will be in attendance at Emirates Stadium on Sunday to mark the anniversary of their triumph.
Odegaard would not look out of place in that team, and his journey is in keeping with many from that great side that went unbeaten in 2003-04.
Arteta, like Arsene Wenger, has shown a skill in maximising unfulfilled talent and piecing broken wonderkids back together, with 25-year-old Odegaard a prime example.
The midfielder was tipped for the top from an early age, making his Norway debut aged 15, but his career stalled after he joined Madrid in 2015.
He trained with the first team, but predominantly played for their ‘B team’ and spent three years on loan before his move to Emirates Stadium.
Kai Havertz is experiencing a similar transformation after his move from Chelsea last summer. The 24-year-old German’s talent has never been in doubt, but it never clicked for him at Stamford Bridge, amid a constant debate about where he should play and what system suited him.
Arteta told Havertz that his versatility was a strength, not a weakness, and it was pitched to him he would play in midfield or anywhere across the forward line for Arsenal. The key point was he would play.
Havertz has flourished as a No9 under a coach who has truly believed in him and given the time required for him to develop.
Arteta has conjured something from Havertz that other managers could not, and the same was true of Wenger with his Invincibles side.
No more so was that the case than with Thierry Henry, who was floundering as a winger at Juventus until Wenger brought him to Arsenal in 1999.
Wenger believed Henry could be repurposed as a striker, even telling him as much on a flight to Paris years before he joined Arsenal, and his prediction rung true.
After a difficult start to life in London, Henry eventually left for Barcelona eight years later as the Gunners’ record scorer, with 228 goals.
Patrick Vieira was another player who was also struggling in Italy until Wenger intervened. Vieira joined from AC Milan in 1996 and went on to make more than 400 appearances for Arsenal, captaining the Invincibles to the title.
