Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Martin Odegaard will travel to London tonight in order to complete his move to Arsenal from Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal.
The Italian journalist confirmed that the Norwegian turned down the likes of Ajax and Real Sociedad for the Gunners after being convinced to make the move by Mikel Arteta.
It has also been reported by El Confidencial that the north London outfit will pay a £2m loan fee as well as the midfielder’s £38k-p/w salary.
Should Arsenal sign Danny Ings?
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There seems to be confusion about exactly what sort of role the central player will play during his six-months at the Emirates Stadium. Some are of the opinion that the talented ace will feature more so than the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, who has been a revelation for Arteta’s side this campaign.
However, that is wholly unrealistic to expect of any player, never mind a 22-year-old stepping into the Premier League for the first time. Odegaard will most likely need a month or two to integrate into a new city and new team. Some players take to their new surroundings like a runaway train (e.g. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang), meanwhile, others tend not to settle in and never make the grade (e.g. Denis Suarez).
It would take the Norway international some time to get used to his new surroundings before he is thrown into the deep end especially with how well the Reds are playing at this moment in time. Four wins in their last five Premier League games leaves the outfit just seven points adrift of the Champions League places. Would Arteta change a successful approach in order to give game time to a player who is a complete unknown? I’m not sure that would be the case.
Odegaard’s loan move is a brilliant one in terms of adding numbers in the Arsenal squad, however, it does prove baffling that it is only for the remainder of this season. It feels like you won’t get a definitive answer as to how well the playmaker is suited to the side and division, hence why a longer loan spell would’ve been ideal.
In other news, staggering figures highlight need for off-field change at Arsenal.
