Zidane shares what he told Arsenal loanee Martin Odegaard before move

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Zinedine Zidane has suggested that he told Martin Odegaard that he wanted him to stay at Real Madrid rather than leave to join Arsenal on loan, in comments reported by The Sun.

Odegaard was one of the marquee signings of the January window. The Gunners brought him in on loan for the rest of the campaign.

It comes after the Norwegian had enjoyed a peripheral role with Los Blancos during the first half of the season. He made just three starts in La Liga.

Nevertheless, Zidane has shared how he did not want Odegaard moving to the Emirates.

“[Odegaard] wanted to leave,” he said, as reported by The Sun.

“We have talked about it two or three times. He is a player who wants to play.

“It was the player’s demand [to leave]. I told him that he had to stay, fight, have peace of mind, because this is a long process.”

If Odegaard can recapture the form from his previous loan spell, the January deal could be looked back upon as a masterstroke from all parties.

He was outstanding during his time at Real Sociedad. And there have already been glimpses of his quality for Arsenal.

For example, there was an outrageous through ball to Nicolas Pepe during the latter stages of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Mikel Arteta will surely hand him a full debut in the very near future. And he certainly has the quality to make sure that he immediately becomes a key player for the Gunners.