Report: Edu has been in talks to bring ‘superstar’ to Arsenal for the past week

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal technical director Edu has reportedly been in talks to bring Martin Odegaard on loan to the Emirates Stadium for the past week, according to The Athletic.

The Gunners are said to be looking for a new creative midfielder in January as cover for Emile Smith Rowe and to bolster the ranks after Mesut Ozil’s exit.

Odegaard has struggled for game time at Real Madrid this season, and Zinedine Zidane is said to have approved a loan move away from the Bernabeu this month.

The 22-year-old joined the Spanish giants in 2015, a move deemed as a coup for both parties, one of the biggest clubs in the world signing one of the most highly rated youngsters in the game.

Odegaard’s progress has been somewhat slow, but following an impressive loan stint at Real Sociedad last term, it was hoped he’d kick on and cement a place in the RM first team.

This hasn’t been the case, and with just nine appearances – five of which have been starts – all season, it looks as though the Norwegian prodigy has grown tired of warming the bench.

As a fringe player, Odegaard could’ve perhaps expected to get a game in domestic cup competition, but he didn’t even make the squad for the Copa del Rey loss to CD Alcoyano.

TBR View:

When reports of Odegaard looking for a loan move first emerged, plenty of Arsenal fans called for the club to join the race for his signature.

Now that the two parties have been linked, it’s music to the supporters’ ears, as Odegaard is just what the Gunners could do with at this moment in time.

With Ozil gone and ESR now the only creative midfield option, cover is desperately needed at least until the summer when a player can be signed permanently.

And what better player to share duties with the Hale End prodigy than a high-calibre creative midfield “superstar”, as compatriot Josh King deemed him?