Manchester City-Arsenal: Martin Odegaard, the spoiled prodigy of Real Madrid who became maestro of the Gunners

The White House child prodigy, Martin Odegaard, has finally come of age. The Arsenal master will face the biggest challenge of his young career on Wednesday, April 26, against Manchester City, on the 33rd day of the Premier League in the title race. Promised to glory upon his arrival at Real Madrid at the age of 16, the Norwegian forced his destiny, seven years later, to finally become one of the best attacking midfielders on the planet.

Facing the Skyblues, the captain of the London club will have the opportunity to shine in the most important game of the Gunners season. After three straight draws, Mikel Arteta’s men saw their lead dwindle over Manchester City, second at five points and two games behind.

Too soft for Real

The hatching of the nugget was planned for a long time. But it took longer than expected to blossom. In 2015, the Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, however, described Martin Odegaard as “talent of the century”. At that time, the Munich club and all the European leaders (Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, ​​etc.) wanted to grab the services of the future prodigy, revealed in the nimbus of the Norwegian championship. Finally, the 16-year-old midfielder decides to put his bags down in Madrid, which wins the day.

First integrated into the workforce of Castilla, the reserve of the Madrid club then coached by Zinédine Zidane, the young Norwegian quickly made his debut with the first team. A symbol of precociousness, he became the youngest player in the history of Real Madrid to play in a La Liga match, on May 23, 2015 against Getafe, replacing a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the rest of his adventure with the Merengues will not have been as good as expected. The Norwegian will have to wait five years to wear the Casa Blanca shirt in La Liga again. Unconvincing (11 games), Martin Odegaard was then loaned from club to club, passing through the Dutch championship (SC Heerenveen then Vitesse Arnhem) before recharging his batteries at Real Sociedad and Arsenal. The Scandinavian is finally transferred permanently to the Gunners in the summer 2021.

A point pour Arsenal

Far from the Santiago Bernabeu, the left-hander seems to have landed in the right place at the right time, he who is now captain of the London team. A true free spirit, Martin Odegaard is not confined to making the link between midfield and attack. He directs the game, creates differences between the lines, distributes caviars to his teammates and shakes the opposing nets. More decisive than ever this season in the Premier League (12 goals and 7 assists), the conductor of the Gunners directs the almost perfect symphony of the 4-3-3 developed by Mikel Arteta.

Captain not very expansive, his influence to guide his partners on the ground is not diminished. On the contrary, the Norwegian midfielder perfectly relays the directives of his coach. “He also has a unique talent for the way we want to play”, underlined Mikel Arteta in a press conference. Often dubbed by the Spanish tactician, the talent of the number 8 of the Gunners is also recognized by Arsène Wenger, the ex-manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018: “It is complete. I love him in every way in the game. Defensive and offensive. He makes decisions quickly, and always in an optimal way. It’s amazing !”, greeted the French coach with Norwegian media TV2 (article in Norwegian).

Under the spotlight on Wednesday, facing the Mancunian dolphin in search of his fifth Premier League title in 6 years, the new prince of Arsenal now wants to become king of England. For this, the pupil Odegaard will have to exceed the master Haaland. Will Norway decide the fate of the English championship?