So, at last the Arsenal have officially confirmed that they have secured the loan of the Norwegian international Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid until the end of the season.
So it looks like we wll not be getting a new permanent attacking midfielder in this transfer window, and Odegaard could be a perfect back up to Emile Smith-Rowe for the next five months.
Mikel Arteta said today on Arsenal.com: “It’s great that we’ve secured Martin to come to us until the end of the season. Martin is of course a player that we all know very well and although still young, he has been playing at the top level for a while. Martin will provide us with quality offensive options and we’re all excited to be integrating him into our plans between now and May.”
This is how Arsenal described Odegaard’s career so far….
The attacking midfielder started his career in Norway with Stromsgodset, where he made his debut as a 15-year-old in April 2014, becoming the youngest-ever player to feature in the top division. After featuring regularly in the Stromsgodset team in his first season, Odegaard was signed by Real Madrid in January 2015 and subsequently became their youngest player in May 2015.
In the three seasons from 2017/18, Martin spent loan spells with Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands and then last season back in Spain with Real Sociedad, where he helped the club reach the final of the Copa Del Rey and also qualify for the Europa League.
The 22-year-old has also made 25 appearances for Norway, making his debut in August 2014 when he became the youngest debutant for his country’s senior national team at the age of just 15 years and 253 days.
Welcome to Arsenal, Martin!