Arsenal are mulling over a shock move for Real Madrid star Martin Odegaard as a long-term replacement for Mesut Ozil.
Various reports in Spain, as relayed by Football.London, have claimed that Arsenal are eyeing a move for the Real Madrid star Martin Odegaard as a potential replacement for Mesut Ozil, who has recently left the club in favour of a move to Fenerbahce this past week.
Odegaard is unhappy at Santiago Bernebeu due to his lack of chances and is keen on leaving the club. Although a return to Real Sociedad is seen as the likeliest outcome, Arsenal have reportedly expressed interest to sign the Norweigian international. Hence, a move to the Premier League wouldn’t come as a shocker.
It appears Ozil’s departure from Emirates has opened the gates for Arsenal in terms of their market activity as they look to find an able replacement, who can compete with Emile Smith Rowe for a place in the starting eleven. The club has already been linked with moves for players like Julian Draxler this month, with the PSG star’s contract expiring at the end of the campaign.
In Odegaard, Mikel Arteta could be boosted with the services of a gifted playmaker, who has already shown his potential at the highest level of football. The youngster, however, has been quite unlucky at Real Madrid, often lacking game-time under Zinedine Zidane. In fact, he has featured in just over 200 minutes of league football this term, though the player has struggled with a muscle and a calf injury.
Therefore, Odegaard’s desire to leave the club comes as no surprise, with Arsenal emerging as an appealing destination. The Gunners are braced for a transitional phase in attack following Ozil’s departure, and it has been evident in the trust shown in young Smith Rowe in the number ten position.
Odegaard, in that regard, could provide Arteta with further options at his disposal. It is also fair to point out that the former Stromsgodset prodigy can even operate as a central midfielder if necessary – making him a potential alternative to Dani Ceballos.
And at the age of just 22, the playmaker has a lot of prospect for the future and will not demand immediate first-team action, ultimately giving Arteta some much-needed time to nurture him into his tactical setup.
Arsenal have already harboured a good relationship with Real Madrid in recent years, notably managing to lengthen Ceballos’ loan spell in the summer. So it will be interesting to see whether they can use that to their advantage in the pursuit of Odegaard in this January transfer window, although it remains unlikely that Los Blancos would want to offload their star asset permanently.