Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard uses virtual reality to prepare for games, with his headset allowing him to scan a game played at 120% speed

Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard sometimes uses virtual reality to prepare for games, with his headset including a feature which allows him to scan a game played at 120 per cent speed, according to The Times.

The 25-year-old assisted the goal which helped the Gunners draw level on aggregate in the second-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against FC Porto last night.

Having conditioned his mind to play faster than any real game can be through the use of VR, it is unsurprising that it took him just a moment of brilliance to slice the Porto defence open with a single pass, which Leandro Trossard finished beautifully.

While the Gunners captain only had 57 touches of the ball – the fewest of Arsenal’s midfielders – and was dispossessed four times as well as losing the ball four more times with poor touches, his assist underlines his huge importance to how the team plays.

Odegaard has been one of the best players this season after overcoming a slow start to the campaign.

A hip injury and concussion troubled the Arsenal star at the beginning of the season, but he is now proving himself all over again and has been very brilliant in recent games.

His form could not have come at a better time, with the North Londoners top of the Premier League table after 28 games and with a spot for themselves in the Champions League quarter-final.

Odegaard has four assists and two goals in his last seven appearances across all competitions, and he will be desperate to do more in the coming games as Arsenal look to win the double.

They have the potential to win both the Premier League and Champions League given their current form and how they have mastered the art of fashioning out victories regardless of the opposition and tactics, and Odegaard will be key to their chances of getting those dreams to come true.