Odegaard backed for success at Arsenal by Norway boss

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:45 CDT
• 2 min read

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken believes Arsenal and Martin Odegaard will make a good fit, with the Real Madrid midfielder on the cusp of a move to the Emirates.

Odegaard starred for Real Sociedad in La Liga last season to the extent that Real Madrid cut short his two-year loan, bringing him back to the Santiago Bernabeu for the 2020/21 season.

He would go on to start their first two matches of the new campaign, but was subsequently dropped from the team and has only made one start in the league since.

With the player eager for more game time, Madrid have allowed him to go out on loan this January, with his status at the club set to be reviewed in the summer.

Arsenal have apparently won the race for his signature ahead of Sevilla and former club Real Sociedad, and Solbakken believes Odegaard will fit in nicely to Mikel Arteta’s playing philosphy.

“I think the way Arsenal play can fit him very well“, Solbakken told Norwegian outlet VG.

“They play different formations and a kind of football that should suit him. He can also play in different roles in the midfield depending on which formation Arteta chooses.

“He will also get runs in front of him so that he can make assists and be a good team player.“

FootballTransfers previously wrote about how Real Madrid and head coach Zinedine Zidane must take the majority of the blame for Odegaard’s current struggles in the Spanish capital.

After a couple of loan moves to Heerenveen and Vitesse, Odegaard eventually moved to Real Sociedad for the start of the 2019/20 season and it was there that he came into his own and started to make good on his promise.

In his debut season with the Basque side, he scored seven goals and assisted a further nine in all competitions, emerging as one of La Liga’s standout performers.