Ole Martin Årst

Ole Martin Årst (born 19 July 1974) is a Norwegian retired footballer. He is a former top scorer in both Belgium's and Norway's top leagues.

Ole Martin Årst

Personal information
Full name	Ole Martin Årst
Date of birth	19 July 1974
Place of birth	Bergen, Norway
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Sortland
	Brage/Trondenes
	Fløya
	Tromsø
	Skarp
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	Skarp	22	(34)
1995–1997	Tromsø	54	(19)
1997–1999	Anderlecht	36	(11)
1999–2000	K.A.A. Gent	33	(30)
2000–2003	Standard Liège	73	(41)
2003–2007	Tromsø	103	(45)
2007–2011	Start	67	(34)
2012-2013	Tromsø	25	(3)
Total		414	(218)
National team
1995–1996	Norway U21	5	(1)
2000–2007	Norway	22	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Årst was born in Bergen, but grew up in Tromsø.[1] He made his professional debut for Tromsø IL on 22 April 1995 against Hamarkameratene at Briskeby stadion. After the 1997 season he was sold to Anderlecht for 13 million kr. He then moved to K.A.A. Gent in Belgium and ended up as a top goalscorer in 2000 with 30 goals. Then Standard Liège signed him for NOK 24 million. He returned to Tromsø IL in the summer of 2003 for NOK 5 million.

Årst became the top scorer in the Tippeligaen 2005, with 16 goals. After a hat-trick against IK Start on 2 October 2005 Årst was ranked as the top league scorer of all times in Tromsø IL with 51 goals. On 9 July 2007 he transferred to IK Start.

Start went down that season, but as Start won a direct promotion in 2008, Årst did not participate in any games due to a serious injury. The same injury limited him to only two games in the 2009 season.

He announced his retirement in October 2009.[2]

He made a comeback for the club in a friendly match in early 2010. He then signed a contract for the duration of 2010, with possibilities of renewal.

Årst signed a one-year deal with Tromsø IL ahead of the 2012 Tippeligaen season. This was his third spell at the club.

International career

He made his debut for Norway in a January 2000 friendly match against Iceland and earned 22 caps since, scoring 2 goals.[3]

Club statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 26 September 2012

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Norway			League		Norwegian Cup		Europe		Total
1994	Skarp	Third division	22	34	?	?	-	-	22	34
1995	Tromsø	Tippeligaen	7	1	3	3	2	0	12	4
1996			24	9	8	6	-	-	32	15
1997			23	9	4	5	4	3	31	17
Belgium			League		Belgian Cup		Europe		Total
1997-98	Anderlecht	Jupiler Pro League	18	10	?	?	?	?	?	?
1998-99			18	1	?	?	?	?	?	?
1999-00	K.A.A. Gent		32	30	?	?	?	?	?	?
2000-01	Standard Liège		29	14	?	?	?	?	?	?
2001-02			12	6	?	?	?	?	?	?
2002-03			30	19	?	?	?	?	?	?
Norway			League		Norwegian Cup		Europe		Total
2003	Tromsø	Tippeligaen	13	5	3	1	-	-	16	6
2004			25	11	3	0	-	-	28	11
2005			26	16	2	2	7	4	35	22
2006			26	11	2	2	-	-	28	13
2007			13	2	3	5	-	-	16	7
2007	Start		12	6	2	0	-	-	14	6
2008		Adeccoligaen	0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0
2009		Tippeligaen	2	0	0	0	-	-	2	0
2010			24	12	3	4	-	-	27	16
2011			29	16	6	4	-	-	35	20
2012	Tromsø	Tippeligaen	25	3	5	1	3	0	33	4
Total	Norway		271	134	45	33	16	7	331	174
	Belgium		139	80	?	?	?	?	?	?
Career total			410	214	?	?	?	?	?	?

• Total: statistics from top two divisions only

Honours

• Norwegian Cup Champion: 1996
• Belgian First Division top scorer: 2000
• Tippeligaen top scorer: 2005
• Kniksen award: striker of the year: 2005

References

1. Johansen, Reidun (19 July 2003). "Årst i hundre" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
2. Samuelsen, Kjetil (30 October 2009). "Årst legger opp". Fædrelandsvennen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
3. "Ole Martin Årst". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.