Arsenal: 3 Crucial Factors in Martin Odegaard Loan Pursuit

Can Arsenal Offer Martin Odegaard Enough Playing Time?

Familiarity, integration time and aspirations of playing in La Liga will all factor in for Odegaard. But so too will how many minutes he can accrue on the pitch while away on loan.

Smith Rowe has nailed down the attacking midfield slot in the Arsenal team. Unless Bruno Fernandes walks through the door or the 20-year-old suffers an unfortunate injury, that won’t change.

Even in the case of none of the above happening he can’t be asked to play every game between now and the end of the season. It’s unfeasible. Arsenal could face up to 35 matches before the summer and the mantle must be shared.

Would Odegaard be content sharing, though? Given the reason he wants out of the Spanish capital is for that exact reason, it’s unlikely. It would come down to assuring him of what he can learn and develop under Mikel Arteta‘s guidance.

A Real Sociedad side who’ve impressed so far can still improve, and Odegaard would likely take up a place in their three-man midfield alongside Mikel Merino and a more defensively-minded teammate.

At Arsenal the workload would be split heavily into Smith Rowe’s favour, whereas he’ll be almost guaranteed a starting berth at Estadio de Anoeta. That may be the nail in Arsenal’s coffin.