The rumor and waiting ended as Martin Ødegaard officially joined Arsenal on loan. Arsenal also confirmed the transfer, announcing that Ødegaard will take the shirt number 11.
Martin Ødegaard is the third player of Real Madrid that has joined Arsenal in the last 10 years, following Mesut Ozil and Dani Ceballos. Ødegaard will take after the shirt number 11 of Lucas Torreira, who has earlier moved to Atletico Madrid in summer of 2020.
The Norwegian player used to be the top target of several big clubs when he was only 16 years old, back to the year 2014. He then joined Real Madrid, playing for the youth team for roughly 1 year and participating in several loan trips in Holland before coming back to Spain last year and had a successful loan-spell at Real Soceidad.
Personally, the Norwegian International star played a total of 36 matches, scoring 7 goals in total and was the important member of Basque representative. Nonetheless, he struggled with getting himself fit into the system of Real Madrid. He was complained not to have a good physical requirement for the club and lack of stamina to reach the world class level.
Despite all of that, Ødegaard remains to be a good addition for Arsenal.
Ødegaard has the experience with soccer at the highest level, understanding how to shine in struggling moments and overcome challenges. He would be a good boost for Arsenal’s midfield, especially the creativity factor. After the departure of Mesut Ozil, Arsenal now has to rely on Smith-Rowe and Willock, those who are not really ready for the big stages. Dani Ceballos is about to come back to Real Madrid after not being able to adapt with Arsenal.
Since then, the addition of Ødegaard is quite decently crucial.
The Norwegian player said that he was happy to join the club and feel ready to play for such a big club like Arsenal.
I spoke to him (Arteta) before coming here, of course.
That was very important for me and he seems like a top manager and I liked his ideas, the way he sees football and also the way he is.
I think every time you go to a new place, you want to make sure that it feels good and that there is a plan. But I think everything here just seems good. I like the club and I always liked the way that the club wants to play. Everything about the club and now how the manager wants to play, I think it’s a club that really suits me well. So I think it’s a good match.
Ødegaard said on Sky Sports.
In the end, we still have to wait whether Ødegaard can fit into Arsenal or not. But overall, he is a decent young talent that Arsenal is searching, and for sure, the former midfielder of Real Madrid would have some good attributes that Arsenal need.
Below are some of his outstanding moments in the shirt of Soceidad last year. Enjoying!