Arsenal have signed Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on what is believed to be a five-year contract and he will wear the number 8 shirt.

martin odegaard

Martin Odegaard is now an Arsenal player.

Mikel Arteta had made Martin Odegaard his number one attacking midfield option but it initially looked like a deal would not be possible. Real Madrid were adamant they wanted Odegaard to play an important role at the club while the Norwegian was keen to do just that.

Quickly, though, it transpired that Carlo Ancelotti was likely to use Odegaard as much as Zinedine Zidane and, with debts mounting, they spotted the chance to land some cash.

Arsenal have been trying to sign Odegaard since before he joined Real Madrid in 2015. He even had a trial with the club before he moved from Strømsgodset for £2.52m as a 16-year-old. At the time, a number of people were said to have warned Odegaard against moving to Real Madrid or Barcelona, but he opted to take his chances.

Odegaard made 20 appearances for Arsenal in the second half of last season, almost double the total number of appearances he has made for the Real Madrid first team since he signed six years ago. He scored two goals for Arsenal, with two assists. He registered none for Real Madrid.

Ødegaard made his international debut at just 15 and has played for his country 30 times, scoring once.

Not only have Arsenal now managed to sign Odegaard on a permanent deal, they have done so for what most would agree is a fair market price.

Two miracles in one.

Odegaard will not, however, be available for Sunday’s match against Chelsea due to visa issues thanks to Brexit.

Odegaard had wore the number 11 shirt last season as it was claimed he wanted a shirt number he could keep should he return to Arsenal. Lucas Torreira, however, is listed as 11 on Arsenal.com, given his number back after returning from loan which is interesting.