Arsenal confirm loan signing for Real Madrid star Martin Odegaard

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Real Madrid star Martin Odegaard on loan until the end of the season.

The Norwegian midfielder traveled to north London to put the finishing touches on the deal on Sunday, and with the details in place all that was missing was official confirmation from the clubs.

And the Gunners announced the arrival of Odegaard in video form on their Twitter account, offering for the first time photos of the 22-year-old in his famous red stripe. The midfielder took the number 11 jersey, leaving the number 10, previously worn by Mesut Ozil, open to one of his new teammates.

Odegaard’s signing softened the blow of the German’s exit in the Emirates, with fans disappointed with the end of the former talisman’s career in north London. They can now expect to see the Madrid playmaker in action, having struggled to make his mark in their first team under Zinedine Zidane.

The youngster enjoyed a breakout season at Real Sociedad last year and Los Blancos have decided not to allow him to join their rivals on loan for another campaign. Odegaard was expected to be an integral part of the Champions’ midfield, but he ended up making just seven La Liga appearances in 2020/21.

This absence from their plans allowed the Gunners to jump in and land a great deal. Arsenal technical director Edu was full of praise for the club’s new signing, thanking Madrid for their collaboration in making the move a reality.

“We are delighted to welcome Martin to the club until the end of the season. I would like to thank everyone at Real Madrid and Martin’s representatives for their collaboration in making this loan possible.

“Martin is an exceptional talent and we are strengthening our squad by presenting an exciting attacking player to the club for the remaining months of this season.”

Gunners coach Mikel Arteta was also delighted with the move, saying Odegaard would offer “quality offensive options” to his current generation of players.

“It’s great that we made Martin come to us until the end of the season. Martin is of course a player we all know very well and although still young he has been playing at the highest level for a while.

“Martin will provide us with some quality offensive options and we are all excited to be making it part of our plans by May.”