Arsenal Confirm Martin Odegaard Loan Signing From Real Madrid

Arsenal have completed the loan signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a deal until the end of the season.

In the space of just a few days, Arsenal have pulled off a remarkable transfer that wasn’t even in most peoples’ thinking during this window. Having informed Madrid that he wanted to leave this month after growing tired of a lack of playing time, Martin Odegaard suddenly became a possibility.

With Real Sociedad among the options available to the 22-year-old, Arsenal’s efforts proved successful having failed with their initial approach. Returning once more following the updates, Mikel Arteta‘s side have secured the creative addition they were desperately seeking.

As confirmed on the official Arsenal website, Odegaard joins the club on a simple loan deal until the end of the season, one that rumour suggests could be reviewed in the summer depending on his impression in north London.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1354391240842862593

Arsenal sign Martin Odegaard on loan deal from Real Madrid until the end of the season

"Mikel Arteta said: “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.”"

Dubbed as the ‘Norwegian Lionel Messi‘ when he broke onto the scene as a 15-year-old, a continent-wide scramble took place for the midfielder’s signature, one Madrid eventually won.

Odegaard since underwent three loans spells away from the Spanish capital, his most fruitful coming last term when he played a starring role for La Real. Upon returning to the Santiago Bernabeu, he struggled to break into Zinedine Zidane‘s first-team plans and has played just five minutes of La Liga football since December 2020.

His arrival will provide both support and competition for Emile Smith Rowe, who is left to fly the creative flag all on his own since breaking into Arteta’s Premier League plans. He joins Mathew Ryan in making a temporary move to Arsenal this month.