FOOTBALL
By Eishna Rawat
Posted on June 23, 2026 7:00 pm | Updated on June 23, 2026 6:11 pm No contract talks have begun yet for Martin Odegaard, with European giants circling.
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The summer window always stirs something up in North London. This time, the latest news from Arsenal centres on a question fans didn’t expect to be asking: what happens next with their captain? The contract situation of Martin Odegaard has become one of the more unsettling stories of the summer. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to be resolved anytime soon.
No talks, no timeline: Martin Odegaard’s future left hanging
As reported by football.london, no formal contract talks had begun before the end of the season. The Norwegian has two years left on his deal, which gives the club some breathing room on paper. But the Gunners have a clear pattern: when they want to keep someone, they move early and decisively. They did it with Saliba, Saka, and Lewis-Skelly. The silence around Martin Odegaard feels different.
His 2025/26 season didn’t help matters either. Injuries kept disrupting his rhythm throughout the campaign. He finished with just one goal in 36 appearances across all competitions. For context, he had 18 goal contributions in a single Premier League season 2 years ago. That drop-off is significant and hard to overlook.
Martin Odegaard for Arsenal in 2025/26, as per FOTMOB:
Competitions Matches Starts Goals Assists
Premier League 24 16 1 6
FA Cup 2 1 0 0
EFL Cup 2 1 0 0
UCL 8 5 0 1
Arsenal also fell in the Champions League final, losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in Budapest, a painful end to what was otherwise a historic year for the club. Winning the title was a landmark moment. Losing the European final the way they did made the summer feel complicated from the very first day.
Bayern and PSG are watching, a sale nobody saw coming?
This is where things get complicated. As reported by TEAMtalk, BBC journalist Sami Mokbel has said whispers have grown over the summer that the club could let their skipper go for the right price. Bayern Munich and PSG are both keeping tabs on his situation. There is also interest from Inter Milan and Juventus.
As reported by Football Transfers, those close to the player tell a different story, though. The 27-year-old is said to want to stay and is keen on signing an extension. Arteta reportedly has no desire to sell his captain either. The Norwegian has 88 goal contributions in 234 appearances since joining from Real Madrid. That kind of record doesn’t make the decision to sell any easier.
As reported by TEAMtalk, Paul Merson called it “madness” while admitting clubs would queue up if the Gunners made him available. Any sale would need a massive fee, and the player’s own willingness to go. Neither looks straightforward at this stage.
What the delay means for Martin Odegaard and the club
There’s a bigger picture here worth considering. Arsenal are pushing hard to bring in Morgan Rogers this summer. As reported by Sports Mole, when asked about his future after the Champions League final, the Norwegian kept it brief, “There is nothing to say at the moment.” A measured response, but one that offered little clarity to those monitoring the situation.
Eze now offers something more direct and vertical in that No. 10 space. Questions about where the captain fits going forward are fair ones to ask. He didn’t always feature in the biggest football moments last season. The Premier League title has only raised expectations higher.
Martin Odegaard is too important a figure for this to be left hanging all summer. The club needs to move on to a new deal or make its position clear soon. Letting it drift into the later weeks of the window benefits no one, least of all the player himself.
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Eishna Rawat
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