Arsenal took Martin Ødegaard on a loan deal from Real Madrid in January and don’t have a clause to make his stay permanent at the end of this season.
VG commentator Leif Welhaven claims the ‘worst case scenario’ of going from Real Madrid bench to the Gunners bench didn’t happen as the 22-year-old has been handed regular minutes by Mikel Arteta.
The midfielder has made 10 appearances [seven starts] for the Gunners and scored two goals, which includes one in the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Welhaven claims Arteta likes the player and his situation at the Emirates should please both Arsenal and Norway supporters.
Ødegaard was appointed as new Norway captain and this will come as positive news for the national team. However, on the club side, it is ‘far from certain what will happen’ with his future.
Welhaven states the Norway international has taken ‘two steps forward and one back’, mainly because Real Madrid have loaned him out over the years.
Looking at his time spent so far in the English capital, the VG commentator adds it ‘must have been a revelation to experience the trust at Arsenal’ for Ødegaard. However, his situation is ‘unpredictable’ because the Gunners can only keep him until the end of this term.
That doesn’t rule out the possibility of extending Ødegaard’s stay at Arsenal. Welhaven says ‘the parties will certainly talk’, meaning the Premier League side are expected to hold talks with Los Blancos for the midfielder in the summer.
However, he warns neither Ødegaard nor Arsenal ‘any means of power’ to continue their association beyond the loan spell. Zinedine Zidane’s side have the ‘last word’.
For now, there are more questions than answers regarding his club future.
