Premier League presenter David Meyler has recently discussed the future of Martin Odegaard and whether Arsenal can sign him permanently or not.
This came after Meyler appeared as a guest on the OTB Football podcast and he gave his opinion about various issues involving the Premier League and recent FA Cup fixtures. He talked about Arsenal’s 3-3 draw against West Ham and this led to him talking about Odegaard’s future at the Emirates. He made his doubts clear about the possibility of Real Madrid allowing Arsenal to sign the Norwegian permanently.
Will Odegaard stay at Arsenal beyond this season?
Yes
No
Odegaard arrived at Arsenal on loan from Real in the recent January transfer window and since arriving at the north London side, the attacking midfielder has done well. He has scored one Premier League goal, scoring once in the Europa League as well.
Meyler praised Odegaard for his performance against West Ham and he believes that Real will loan him out again next season.
He made it clear (18:10): “We’ve all heard the hype over the last three, four years of this young man. Certainly, yes, there was one of those games where I did look at him – 21 years of age, he went and tried to get the ball everywhere. When they were 3-0 down, he was the one that was actually trying to drag them back into the game and he is an exciting talent.
“Will Real Madrid let him go? I highly doubt it. I think there’s probably conversations that like I don’t know, what is the term for the loan, and he’d probably end up going on loan again for next year too. But certainly, he was the driving spark in Arsenal.”
TIF Thoughts on Martin Odegaard…
The 22-year-old Odegaard, who is valued at £36 million (as per Transfermarkt), has picked up a rating of 6.65 in the Premier League and his rating stands at an impressive 7.12 in the Europa League. He has amassed an Expected Assists per 90 minutes tally of 0.15, with his xG per 90 at 0.15 too.
While those are good numbers, he might need to keep performing at a high level till the end of the season to prove himself to be a consistent performer. So even though he did well against the Hammers, Arsenal might need to keep monitoring his performances and then think about whether to sign him permanently or not.