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Done deal: Odegaard – His Arsenal idol, photos in kit & Arteta’s key role in move

By mac14 on January 27, 2021

Martin Odegaard has completed his loan move to Arsenal with the exciting playmaker joining the club from Real Madrid until the end of the season.

The 22-year-old was keen to leave the Bernabeu after failing to hold down a regular first team place this season and Arsenal moved quickly to fend off competition to secure a deal with the Spanish giants.

Odegaard flew-in to the UK on Sunday night to finalise the move and, according to Goal, he completed his medical at London Colney on Monday where he also took the time to meet his new team-mates.

We had to wait a little longer than expected but Arsenal finally announced the move on Arsenal.com today with Odegaard joining on loan until the end of the season. We’ve paid Madrid a small loan fee and will cover the players wages but unfortunately there is no option to make the deal permanent included in the agreement.

Mikel Arteta has been looking to add more creativity to his squad this month and he’s done just that with the arrival of Odegaard. The Norwegian international has confirmed Arteta played a ‘crucial’ role in convincing him to join Arsenal, telling Arsenal.com:

“I spoke to him 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.

“He gave me a great feeling and that was important for me to come here. He was crucial.

Odegaard trained with us when he was a youngster before eventually joining Madrid when he was 16 but he’s revealed that he’s always been a keen admirer of Arsenal’s style of play and named Cesc Fabregas as one of his idols. He told Arsenal.com:

“In Norway, the Premier League is really big. Since I was a little kid there, we always watched all the games, me and my friends.

“I think it’s the biggest league, especially in Norway, so for me it’s always been a dream to play in the Premier League and I always liked the way Arsenal played and everything about the club. So it’s a dream come true in many ways.

“There were a lot [of Arsenal players I admired]. But I think Fabregas, for me, was one of my idols when I grew up. So especially him.

“The way he controls the game, the way he dictated the game, his ability to give assists and also score goals. Everything about his game. I tried to learn as much as possible when I grew up watching him. He was the top player.”

Odegaard will wear the No.11 shirt and he’ll provide competition for Emile Smith Rowe in the No.10 role during the second half of the campaign – although he’s also comfortable playing out wide if needed.

The youngster has struggled to establish himself at Madrid but there is no denying his potential. Odegaard showed just what he can do during a loan spell at Real Sociedad last season where he provided 7 goals and 9 assists in 36 games so he’s got the quality to be a terrific signing.

He’s expected to be in the squad for the visit of Manchester United at the weekend but a place on the bench is probably the most he can hope for after only training with the club for a few days.

I have high hopes that Odegaard can make a really positive impact in the next few months, it’s just a shame we didn’t manage to get an option to make the deal permanent included in the agreement.