Martin Odegaard reveals what happened during first Arsenal trial under Arsene Wenger
Every club in world football has got a back catalogue of ‚what if‘ stories. You know the ones, ‚Ronaldinho’s bus broke down on his way to the medical‘ and ‚Paolo Maldini’s pen ran out of ink just as he was about to sign the contract‘.
Arsenal have no shortage of these stories, with Arsene Wenger in particularly often revealing the ones that got away. However, it turns out at least one of these tales had a happy sequel.
Having signed for Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season, Martin Odegaard has revealed that he actually spent a week on trial at the club during Wenger’s reign.
The Norway international eventually opted to sign for La Liga giants Real Madrid, however, he’s admitted he enjoyed his short spell in north London.
„I was at the club and trained a little bit, I had a chat with the club and I had a really good felling when I was here,“ he told the club’s official YouTube channel. „I was thinking a lot about it but in the end it wasn’t my decision at that time but I had a really good time and I remember it well.
„Every time I heard about the club I had a good feeling and now I’m here so maybe it’s meant to be.“
Odegaard joins Arsenal at a time when the club are enjoying their best form of the season. Mikel Arteta’s men are unbeaten in six Premier League outings – a run of results which has seen them climb into the top half of the table.
The loanee was asked what he hopes to achieve during his time at the Emirates Stadium and he’s confident of a strong finish given the quality available to Arteta.
„I just want to help the team as much as possible – I think that’s the most important thing, to get into the team, try and improve and to help reach all our goals for this year,“ he said. „It’s a good team and a strong squad so I just hope I can help to improve it even more.“
Clearly undeterred by his allegiance to parent club Real Madrid, Odegaard spoke of his dreams of emulating former Barcelona man Cesc Fabregas when asked of his Arsenal idols.
“There were a lot [of Arsenal players I admired],“ he added. „But I think [Cesc] Fabregas, for me, was one of my idols when I grew up. So especially him.
“The way he controls the game, the way he dictated the game, his ability to give assists and also score goals. Everything about his game. I tried to learn as much as possible when I grew up watching him. He was the top player.”