Odegaard: What Arsenal have given me that Madrid didn’t
FT Desk
- 6 Mar 2022 21:45 GMT
- 3 min read
Martin Odegaard has expressed his happiness at Arsenal and revealed that he now feels he has found his home after leaving Real Madrid.
Odegaard arrived at the club on a permanent basis from Madrid last summer, having spent the second half of last season on loan at the Emirates Stadium.
Latest news
He was part of a team that finished eighth in the Premier League in 2020/21 and embarrassingly missed out on European competition entirely.
But in 2021-22, Arsenal have really started to find their feet and they are now looking very strong favourites to finish in the top four this term.
Odegaard has played an important role in a young and exciting Arsenal team, providing five goals and five assists in all competitions.
What did Odegaard say?
“I feel that I have become more important for the team and I now occupy more space,” Odegaard told TV2.
“I have found my true position and now have connections [on the pitch] all around me. I’m getting better all the time.
“I feel like I am in a good place. They have given me peace and stability to establish myself somewhere and not be stressing about where I might be in the next transfer window.”
Odegaard on Arteta: "Right from the start I had a great sense for him. I felt it the first time I spoke to him at a Zoom meeting. He was very clear on how he saw me as a player, how he could use me & what he could help me with. Ever since then its been very good" pic.twitter.com/FQrOKdeM4j
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) March 6, 2022
Odegaard moved to Arsenal after failing to make the grade at Real Madrid.
He famously made a high profile move to Madrid from his native Norway at the age of 15 but, after a series of loan spells around Europe, he never broke into the Blancos first team properly.
“It was a bit special, making my way at 15 years old, everything that happened back then and moving to Madrid,” he said.
“There were a lot of people around me who were worried that I was being looked at [by Real Madrid], the clubs and the people around me. I was constantly examined.”
Odegaard was in good form on Sunday as he scored one of Arsenal’s goals in their 3-2 win over Watford.
