He started playing professional football at 15, and it took him eight years to come to Arsenal and only one season to become Gunners captain. But if you ask Martin Odegaard, he will tell you that always had this ‘weird connection’ to Arsenal, long before he actually came to the Emirates stadium. The Norwegian international came to Arsenal in 2021 on loan from Real Madrid and he never looked back. He soon became a starter in Mikel Arteta’s side and this season he was rewarded by becoming the captain of a team which looks destined to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004.Martin Odegaard 🥹🫶#AFC #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/Oh2uG8hqRO— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) February 10, 2023 In a big text for ‘The Players Tribune’, the player talked about his career so far, and he admitted he had a connection with the Gunners long before 2021. “I don’t even really know how to explain it, except with one little story. I’ve never been that much into video games. I am of that generation that always played outside, but the one exception was FIFA. I mostly played Career Mode. You know, where you get to be the manager? The club I always chose to manage was Arsenal. They were my FIFA team. Growing up in Norway, I watched a lot of Premier League and I just had this good feeling about Arsenal. I’d seen clips of Thierry Henry and the Invincibles. I knew the club had a history of developing playmakers like Fabregas, Nasri, Özil — really smart, technical players, who were good on the ball and played the difficult passes. My kind of players” explained Odegaard his first connection with the Gunners. ##EDITORS_CHOICE##But for the next few years, he was in other clubs. And his first bigger one was actually the biggest – Real Madrid. Odegaard explained that he and his father went around a lot of club, Arsenal included.“I’m not just saying this … I was actually close to choosing Arsenal. When we went there, I got to train at London Colney. I met Arsene Wenger. He took me and Dad out for dinner. That was cool, but strange too. It’s Arsene Wenger, you know? He’s this legend I grew up watching on TV, and now I’m sitting across from him eating steak. I was so nervous I was just sitting there thinking, Is he analysing me right now? Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries? Maybe I should just leave them. Hahaha!”. The journey of Norway and Arsenal’s captain Martin Odegaard 😭💕pic.twitter.com/YFlH0Geto3— S👻 (@scrapytweets) February 9, 2023 The Norwegian midfielder than stated that in the end, ‘Real is Real’, and the choice was logical. There were the best club around and his manager in Real B was Zinedine Zidane at the time. But with time, Odegaard just couldn’t face the prospect of just training and sitting on the bench. “Listen, I want to make it clear that I am not complaining about my time at Real Madrid. Not at all. Going to Madrid was a good thing for me. I learned so much about what it takes to reach the top. I watched, trained and learned from the best players in the world, my idols. I played at the Bernabeu. I learned to be tough and to face challenges. But when things got tough, I never lost sight of the bigger picture. In my head I was always like, How can I change? How can I get better? Because in the end, I will never be the guy who is happy to just train at the biggest club and maybe get a few minutes here and there”. 🗣️ “He is next level. It’s hard to explain. He’s passionate, he’s intense and yeah, sometimes, he’s a bit crazy. But when he speaks, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen.”🔴 Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard on inspirational Mikel Arteta! pic.twitter.com/RpXrtpqyZm— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) February 9, 2023 So after loans with Heerenveen, Vitesse and Real Sociedad, Arsenal popped up as an option. “I spoke to Mikel Arteta on a Zoom call and he told me all about the project. At the time, Arsenal were not doing well. They were way down like 15th in the table, but that meeting … Honestly, I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you. He is next level. It’s hard to explain. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy … but when he speaks, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen. He told me his plan, everything he was building towards. He knew exactly what needed to change at the club. He told me all about these amazing young players in the squad — Saka, Martinelli, Smith Rowe, etc., etc. He told me how he wanted me to fit in and how I was going to improve. I got this strong feeling that he was onto something really special” remembers Odergaard. Being an Arsenal captain? Better think twice before you accept that dutyThe Norwegian admitted that he didn’t need to much convincing to come to North London and it turned out to be the right move so far. “At the end of my first season here in 2020-21 , when we finished eighth, it seemed like no one at the club lost faith in what we were doing. Everyone believed in us. It was all part of the plan. Even last season when things got really tough. Obviously, we took it hard losing out on Champions League qualification when it was in our hands like that, but we learned from that experience. We came back closer, stronger, hungrier. We’re in the title race now, but there’s a long way to go and, trust me, no one is thinking about May yet. It’s a cliché but we are taking it game by game, training session by training session. One piece at a time. I will say this, though, if there’s anyone left who still doesn’t fully believe in this team, take it from me: there are no limits on what we can achieve. No one can tell me otherwise. I’m so proud to be captain of this club and I feel like I’m going to be here a long time” said Odegaard. ##NAJAVA_MECA_7014018##Former Real player also said he met with Arsene Wenger recently and that the Frenchman remembered their steak and fries dinner and also said that Wenger kept a closer look on his career even after he chose Madrid. So far, it’s been excellent for Odegaard, who is enjoying his life and atmosphere in London. “Whenever I lead the team out at the Emirates, I have this moment to myself. I want to really feel that atmosphere, that electricity from the fans. I always listen as they play North London Forever over the speakers and I start singing along under my breath. I get goosebumps every time. I close my eyes, and I think about myself as a kid out on the artificial pitch in Drammen. If you’d have shown that kid a snapshot of this moment and told him this was in his future? He would have died for this. It’s been a hell of a long road, but I’m living my dream. I’m home. And the best is yet to come” said Odegaard.
