Odegaard reveals which Arsenal player he idolised growing up

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Martin Odegaard has revealed that he idolised former Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas when he was growing up watching the Premier League in Norway.

On Wednesday, Odegaard secured a huge loan move from Real Madrid to the Gunners, with him joining for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.

In an interview with the official Arsenal website, he claimed that he was always a fan of the Premier League as a child, and particularly enjoyed watching how the Spaniard played.

“In Norway, the Premier League is really big,” Odegaard told Arsenal.com. “Since I was a little 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 it’s always been a dream to play in the Premier League and I always liked the way Arsenal played and everything about the club. So it’s a dream come true in many ways.

“There were a lot [of Arsenal players I admired]. But I think Fabregas, for me, was one of my idols when I grew up. So especially him.”

Odegaard provided reasoning for why Fabregas was a hero of his.
 
“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,” he added.

“I tried to learn as much as possible when I grew up watching him. He was the top player.”

In his youth, Odegaard starred for Stromsgodset was eventually signed by Real Madrid in 2015 to much fanfare, with him considered one of the best players in the world in his age group at the time.

He would feature for the Castilla side before eventually going out on loan to Heerenveen, Vitesse, and, then, Real Sociedad for the 2019/20 campaign.

It was with Real Sociedad that he truly came into his own and started to make good on the reputation he had previously earned.

He has found things tough at Real Madrid this season, though, starting just three times in La Liga.

Though he has joined Arsenal on loan for the rest of the 2020/21 campaign, there is not believed to be any option that can be exercised by the Gunners to make the move permanent in the summer

FootballTransfers have looked at how Arsenal could potentially line up with Odegaard in the team.