Martin Odegaard, one of the fulcrums of Arsenal’s concerted push for their first Premier League title in almost two decades, has no need to be reminded that football can be a fickle business. The Norwegian attacking midfielder, 24, knows all about the vicissitudes of the top level, the ups and downs, the hype which can swiftly segue into a dead-end of frustration.
Once regarded as schoolboy prodigy–so much so that he drew comparisons with a certain Lionel Messi–Odegaard was a mere15 when he made his full debut for Norway in 2014 and signed for the mighty Real Madrid just months later, joining them in a €4 million deal from the Stromsgodset club in January 2015. At the time, no other kid in Europe was as revered.
“It’s a dream come true,” gushed the teenager at his unveiling at Real’s Valdebebas training HQ. The ensuing years, however, turned out to be anything but. His first three-and-a-half seasons involved nothing more than some relatively nondescript displays for Real’s reserve team, Castilla, precious few first-team opportunities, and an 18-month loan in the Netherlands with Heerenveen.
It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that Odegaard began to show glimpses of what all the fuss had been about. In another season in
