Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Martin Odegaard for a fee in the region of €35m. Arteta confirmed towards the end of last season that the club want to sign Odegaard, after he scored two goals and made two assists in his five-month loan spell. Speaking on the final day of the season, Arteta said:
Mikel Arteta said: “We have a very clear and strong opinion on what we would like to do. He’s not our player. We’ll have discussions in the next few weeks, but first of all we need to respect that he’s a Real Madrid player. We’ll have those communications. We’ve tried to make everything that we could to get Martin performing for the team, which I think he’s done. He has adapted really well to our way of playing and to our football. Hopefully we have given him the hope and the feeling this could be a good place for him. [Confident Odegaard will stay?] I don’t know. It’s not in our hands, I don’t know.”
Odegaard is unlikely to get regular game time under new Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Norway captain will be guaranteed minutes under his belt at Emirates Stadium. He will be hopeful of being included in the Arsenal squad for Sunday’s Premier League game against Chelsea, with the Gunners also closing in on the signing of Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
