Martin Odegaard revealed the previous Real Madrid teammate he would like to have at Arsenal because the two sides prepare to lock horns within the Champions League.
Odegaard joined Real Madrid on the age of 16 back in January 2015 after impressing at boyhood club Strømsgodset.
The Norwegian initially frolicked within the reserve team under the tutelage of then-manager Zinedine Zidane before being sent on loan for 4 successive seasons.
Returning to the Real first team, Odegaard struggled to get regular minutes and eventually joined Arsenal on loan for six months, with the Gunners making that deal everlasting at the top of the season.
And since then, the midfielder has gone from strength to strength, making 185 appearances in all competitions for the north London side and becoming their captain ahead of the 2022/23 season.
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Odegaard can have the prospect to face off against his former side for the primary time in an Arsenal shirt when the 2 teams collide within the Champions League quarter-finals after the international break.
In actual fact, it’s going to be the primary time that the 2 sides have met in a competitive fixture since their last-16 clash within the Champions League back in March 2006.
Sizing up a few of his former teammates in an interview with TV2 Sport, Odegaard namechecked Vinicius Junior because the world’s best player and someone who he would like to be reuinted with on the Emirates.
‘Now I just said that Vinicius is the perfect on the planet so it’s natural to take him,’ Odegaard said when asked which Real player he would sign for Arsenal.
Discussing the tie further in one among Arsenal’s recent matchday programmes, the 26-year-old said: ‘In fact, these will probably be two very necessary matches against Real Madrid, and for me personally, it’s going to be special to play against my former team.
‘We consider in ourselves and we all know what we are able to do. Our performances within the Champions League have been excellent, winning seven of our ten matches to date.
‘We’re looking forward to the primary leg here on the Emirates Stadium next month. It should be an important evening.’
Arsenal keeper David Raya, meanwhile, is confident his side can harness the experience of their disappointing exit to Bayern Munich last season to assist them try to go one step further this time around.
‘That is an important club and the team is incredible. We’re moving into the appropriate direction to realize things, it’s a matter of time,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘Everybody desires to win the Champions League and everybody knows how hard it’s. Last yr I assumed we did a extremely good campaign. We were so near beating Bayern Munich to enter the semi-finals.
‘We’re moving into the appropriate direction. Now we have that have now and never many players had played within the Champions League before. We sit up for it and accept the challenge.
‘Now we have an enormous challenge ahead playing Real Madrid. It’s the one you actually desired to play if you were young.’
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