Martin Odegaard to Arsenal: Real Madrid playmaker set to finalize loan move and undergo medical today
Real
Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard is due at Arsenal’s training ground today to finalise
his loan move to the club.
Odegaard has agreed to join the Gunners until the end of the
season, with the loan deal containing no option for Arsenal to make the move
permanent in the summer.
The 22-year-old has made just seven LaLiga appearances
for Real Madrid this season and he is eager to gain more action in the second
half of the campaign.
Odegaard had also attracted interest from Real Sociedad,
where he spent last year on loan, but Arsenal have won the race for the
attacking midfielder.
The Gunners have been in the market for a playmaker
throughout the current transfer window and have looked at a number of targets.
The move will delight Mikel
Arteta, who is believed to have played a significant role in convincing the
Norway international to opt against a return to Real Sociedad in
favour of a spell in north London.
Odegaard’s arrival will ease the pressure on the likes of Emile
Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, while
increasing the pressure on underperforming stars such as Willian and Nicolas
Pepe.
The young attacker was determined to leave Madrid this month in
pursuit of regular football between now and the end of the season, having made
just nine appearances for the Spanish champions in all competitions this
season.
Odegaard’s availability became clear last week, when Real Madrid
decided he would go out on loan, and Arsenal’s technical director Edu has acted
swiftly to tie up a deal.
The Norwegian is due at the club’s training ground on
Monday to undergo his medical and finalise the relevant paperwork before
joining Arsenal, who are thought to be paying a loan fee of around €2million
(£1.8m).
Arsenal wanted to sign a creative midfielder this month
to provide competition for Emile Smith Rowe, who has burst onto the scene and
into the first team.
The
departures of Mesut Ozil, who joined Fenerbahce on Sunday, Sead
Kolasinac and Sokratis Papastathopoulos have freed up space in the squad, but
Arsenal will still need to offload another non-homegrown player once Odegaard
has signed.
Brighton
goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who joined on loan last Friday, has taken up
one non-homegrown spot in the Arsenal squad and another must be found to add
Odegaard.
Arsenal
manager Mikel Arteta spoke to the 22-year-old directly to assure
him that he will get minutes in his new project. This has
reportedly been decisive for the Norwegian, who also had the choice of
returning to Real Sociedad, where he showed some superb form last season. Real
Madrid are happier with the offer from Arsenal as they are not a direct rival.
Odegaard
will be their second loanee from Real Madrid this season, along with fellow
midfielder Dani Ceballos.
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They have also paid Madrid a loan
fee for the 22-year-old and there is no option to turn the move permanent
included in the deal.
The move will delight Mikel Arteta, who is believed to have
played a significant role in convincing the Norway international to opt against
a return to Real Sociedad in favour of a spell in north
London.
Odegaard’s arrival will ease the pressure on the likes of Emile
Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, while increasing the pressure on underperforming stars such as
Willian and Nicolas Pepe.
The
young attacker was determined to leave Madrid this month in pursuit of regular
football between now and the end of the season, having made just nine
appearances for the Spanish champions in all competitions this season.
Arsenal
have been searching for a creative midfielder since the start of the campaign,
with Mesut Ozil having been left out of the Premier League squad by Arteta.
The German has now completed a move to Fenerbahce and,
in his absence this season, Arsenal have struggled for creativity, although
Smith Rowe has transformed Arteta’s attack since being brought into the side on
Boxing Day.
The 20-year-old has set up three goals in six games since the
3-1 win against Chelsea on December 26 and found the net himself
in the FA Cup win against Newcastle.
There are some who believe Odegaard’s imminent arrival might put
the brakes on Smith Rowe’s impressive development, but Arteta insists every decision Arsenal make is well thought out.
“We
have a very clear idea of how we want our players to develop and what they need
to do that,” he said, when asked what the capture of Odegaard could mean for
Smith Rowe.
“All
the decisions we make are just to reinforce their development and try to give them
the best possible chance.”
As
well as playing at number 10, Odegaard can also operate from the wide right
position, so he could provide cover for Saka, who has been performing so well
on the right side of attack in recent weeks.
That could see opportunities further limited for Willian and
Pepe, whose performances were once again called into question following
Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Southampton.
