Liverpool were close to signing one of Arsenal's most important players who happened to be a Reds fan
Martin Odegaard of Arsenal clapping
Martin Odegaard used to be a Liverpool fan(Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard once admitted Liverpool were his dream club. The Reds travel to the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night to take on the Premier League leaders, with the Gunners sitting 14 points clear of Arne Slot’s reigning champions after just 20 games.
Leading Mikel Arteta’s men will be the in-form Odegaard, who could prove a handful for Liverpool after notching three goal involvements in his last three outings. Yet, there was a time when the Norwegian playmaker might well have chosen to play his football at Anfield, given the mutual admiration between the club and player.
Odegaard was one of the world’s most coveted wonderkids during his early teens and attracted attention from many of Europe’s elite clubs. That included Liverpool, where he even spent several days training with the first team and being shown the facilities at Melwood in December 2014.
The then-15-year-old sensation, who had just become the youngest player ever to play in a European Championship qualifier, was mulling over which club to join from Stromsgodset at the time with his father.
Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal all spoke to the youngster in a clamour to sign him for their respective clubs.
In the end, Odegaard opted to join Real Madrid over Brendan Rodgers’ side in a high-profile move. That was after he had told Sport Bild in 2014: "Liverpool have always been my dream club but I will not let this affect my decision when I choose a new club.
"It's all about finding the team that is best for me and for my development. That is not necessarily Liverpool. I haven't really thought about my future yet.
"I will end the season here and then visit a number of clubs. I have not made a final decision yet, though. Of course, it's flattering when you hear that big clubs are after you but I don't think about it too often."
Martin Odegaard from Norway holds his new Real Madrid shirt back in 2015
Real Madrid won the race to sign the Norwegian wonderkid in 2015
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Towards the end of the January transfer window in 2015, Odegaard was unveiled as a Los Blancos player. However, he went on to make just 11 first-team appearances, struggling to break into the star-studded side as he played 62 times for the Castilla set-up in the Spanish capital.
During his six years with Los Blancos, he took up temporary spells in Holland with Herenveen and Vitesse Arnhem before signing for Real Sociedad on loan, where he won the Copa del Rey in 2019/20. His success for the Basque club drew attention from newly-appointed Arsenal boss Arteta thanks to the Spaniard’s connections with Sociedad.
He initially signed on a short-term basis at Arsenal in 2021 but made his move permanent that summer, going from strength to strength since then in north London and being named club captain at the start of the 2022/23 season.
"My dad handled everything with the clubs, and there were a lot," Odegaard more recently told The Players Tribune, explaining the situation as a teenager. "We went to Bayern, Dortmund, Man Utd, Liverpool, Madrid, Arsenal too. We got flown around in private planes and made to feel special.
Arsenal's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard gets instructions from Mikel Arteta.
Odegaard ended up joining Arsenal
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"I’m not just saying this … I was actually close to choosing Arsenal. When we went there, I got to train at London Colney. I met Arsène Wenger. He took me and Dad out for dinner.
"That was cool but strange too. It’s Arsène Wenger, you know? He’s this legend I grew up watching on TV and now I’m sitting across from him eating steak.
"I was so nervous I was just sitting there thinking, ‘Is he analysing me right now? Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries? Maybe I should just leave them.’ Hahaha!"