Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard has joined Premier League club Arsenal on a loan deal for the remainder of the season, it has been confirmed.
The Norwegian will remain at the Gunners until the end of the campaign and then return to Madrid this summer.
✍️ It’s øfficial… 😉 pic.twitter.com/4eV5gNjK3x
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 27, 2021
Odegaard has made just one league start for Madrid since September and made just one fleeting substitute appearance – a five-minute cameo against Celta Vigo earlier this month – in the last 12 matches for Los Blancos.
As per Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague on BBC Sport, Madrid blocked the option of a return to Real Sociedad – where he spent last season on loan – for the player.
Indeed, Los Blancos cut short the midfielder’s two-season-long loan deal at the Basque club this summer to return him to their first-team squad.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “Martin is of course a player we all know very well. Although still young, he has been playing at the top level for a while.”
The 22-year-old made nine appearances for Madrid this season and this will be his fourth loan move away, having also had stints at Vitesse and Heerenveen in the Netherlands.
