The attacking midfielder from Norway, Martin Odegaard, officially costumed Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid.
Odegaard, who previously passed the medical test on Tuesday (26/1), will defend Arsenal until the end of this season. At Arsenal, Odegaard will wear the jersey number 11.
“It’s great we can sign Martin until the end of the season. Martin is a player we all know well and even though he is young, he is already playing at the top level.”
“Martin will make us have quality offensive options and we are all excited to integrate it into our plans from now to May,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, quoted from the club’s official website.
Before Odegaard joined the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal had already borrowed Dani Ceballos from Madrid.
“We are delighted to welcome Martin to this club until the end of the season. I want to thank everyone at Real Madrid and Martin’s representatives for the collaboration that made this loan possible,” said Arsenal Technical Director Edu Gaspar.
“Martin is an extraordinary talent and we strengthen our squad by introducing interesting offensive players to the club during the remaining months of the season,” he continued.
Odegaard has expressed his desire to remove the Madrid shirt in order to get a chance to play more in the first team. This season, Odegaard has played only nine times for Madrid in various competitions.
Since being brought in from Stromsgodset in 2015, Odegaard then joined the Los Merengues youth team. In the 2016/2017 season, the player who plays as an attacking midfielder was loaned out to Heerenveen for two seasons and returned to ‘school’ at Vitesse. Last season, Odegaard was loaned back by Madrid to Real Sociedad.
Sociedad actually wanted to borrow Odegaard again, but Madrid preferred to loan the 22-year-old player outside Spain.
Odegaard expressed his happiness to be able to play in the English Premier League after officially joining the Emirates Stadium.
“In Norway, the English Premier League is huge,” said Odegaard at Arsenal.com. “Since I was a 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 playing in the Premier League has always been a dream and I’ve always loved the way Arsenal play and everything about the club. So it’s a dream come true in many ways. “
Mikel Arteta is keen to provide support and competition for Emile Smith Rowe, who has been impressing since breaking into the first team.
Although Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup after the 0-1 defeat to Southampton, the Europa League will return in February so the Gunners will need to rotate their squad.
