Martin Ødegaard

Martin Ødegaard (born 17 December 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the Norway national team.

Ødegaard began his senior club career at age 15 in 2014, playing for Strømsgodset; he set the Tippeligaen record for its youngest goalscorer, and in 2015, signed for Real Madrid in a transfer worth an initial €4 million ( Kr.35 million), where he set the club record for its youngest player. After enduring sporadic playing time, Ødegaard joined Eredivisie clubs Heerenveen and Vitesse, and La Liga club Real Sociedad, on successive loans between 2017 and 2019; Ødegaard won the Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad in 2019. Following another loan, he signed for Arsenal in 2021 in a transfer worth an initial £29 million (€35 million). After a successful first full season with Arsenal, he was announced as the club's captain in 2022.

Ødegaard made his senior international debut for Norway in 2014, at age 15, and has set the record for the youngest senior Norway player, and the youngest player to play in a UEFA European Championship qualifying match. He assumed the full captaincy of Norway in March 2021.

Early life

Martin Ødegaard was born on 17 December 1998, in Drammen. He spent his first years in the local sports club Drammen Strong. His father, Hans Erik Ødegaard, a former footballer, co-founded a football section in the club, and became the coach of his son's team. In 2005, when Ødegaard was six, his parents and others each invested 50,000 kroner so that the local club could refit their gravel field, ''Kjappen'', with artificial turf. This has been cited as crucial for his development, as Ødegaard spent countless hours on the field.

Drammen Strong was twice selected by Ødegaard to receive a prize of 50,000 kroner (€5,800), when the young player was given the Statoil talent award for April 2014 and for the 2014 season. Later, in 2015, Drammen Strong received 250,000 kroner, equivalent to approximately €29,000, as a gift from Strømsgodset Toppfotball when Ødegaard was sold to Real Madrid.

Club career

Early career

In 2009, Ødegaard joined the youth division of Strømsgodset. He trained and played with older boys. The Norwegian Football Federation also organises young talents in local district teams, and Ødegaard played his first matches for the Buskerud team in January 2010, when he had just turned 11. The other players on the team, and opponents, were two to three years older. The coach noted: "Handles things brilliantly. Good choices. Good touch, smart in position game". Ødegaard trained with this team weekly for the next three years. He mostly played left back, as the coaches felt this would give him a positive experience with many ball touches while still playing against physically much stronger players. In attack, he was given free rein due to his ability to "see solutions and spaces that we as coaches were not even close to thinking about."

In 2011, at age 12, he impressed former football manager Lars Tjærnås during a nationwide tournament for under-16s:

The best 15-year-olds in the country were gathered for a tournament between the top clubs... It was definitely not the first time he had astonished his opponents or the spectators. He was three or four years younger than the others. It was impossible not to realize that we were witnessing something out of the ordinary.

Strømsgodset

Ødegaard began training with the Strømsgodset first team in 2012, aged 13. He made his first-team debut the same year, in a mid-season friendly against local rivals Mjøndalen IF. He also had short training visits to Bayern Munich and Manchester United. In 2013, at age 14, Ødegaard played for both Strømsgodset's junior team (normally aged 17–19), and the club's third team at the fifth tier of Norwegian senior football.

In January 2014, it was agreed that 15-year-old Ødegaard would be part of Strømsgodset's first team for the year, but no professional contract was signed. The competition rules state that to play in Tippeligaen, players must have a professional contract to be eligible. However, the club included Ødegaard on the "B-list" for amateur players, which made him eligible for up to three matches per season. Ødegaard was unable to train with Strømsgodset in the daytime since he was still in compulsory education. Thus, as part of the agreement, he trained two evenings a week with Mjøndalen IF, a semi-professional First Division team at the time, where his father was one of the coaches.

He made his league debut for Strømsgodset in a match against Aalesunds FK at Marienlyst Stadion on 13 April 2014. Aged 15 years and 118 days, he became the youngest footballer ever to play in Tippeligaen. On 5 May, he signed a professional contract with Strømsgodset, lasting until the end of 2015. This removed the restriction of three matches per season. Eleven days later, he scored his first professional goal and became the youngest goalscorer in Tippeligaen when he scored the fourth goal for Strømsgodset in a 4–1 home victory against Sarpsborg 08 FF. He made his European debut on 16 July, replacing Lars-Christopher Vilsvik for the final five minutes of the club's 1–0 home defeat to Steaua București in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round.

In late July, an away match at Sandnes Ulf prompted serious discussion in national newspapers '' VG'', ''Dagbladet'' and ''Aftenposten'', on his possible call-up to the Norwegian national team. Ødegaard was involved in all three goals for his team, including a goal and an assist. He was also fouled for a penalty which was missed by a teammate. John Arne Riise, the most-capped player on the Norwegian national team, was impressed, and "demanded" Ødegaard should be called up to play against the big nations of Europe. Former manager for Norway, Nils Johan Semb, said after the match that "Martin is one of the best 15-year-olds in Europe," but added that he should not be rushed into the national team. Ødegaard himself stated to the press that if he would be asked to play for Norway, he would say yes.

In the away match against IK Start on 15 August the same year, Ødegaard was placed on the right wing, and made all three assists for Strømsgodset, who won 3–2. He scored two goals in a match for the first time in his career in the 2–1 win against Lillestrøm SK on 19 October. Strømsgodset finished fourth in the league, qualifying for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, with Ødegaard having scored 5 goals in 23 league games in addition to 7 assists.

In December 2014, during the Norwegian close season, he trained with the first teams at Liverpool, Bayern Munich and visited Arsenal's London Colney.

Real Madrid

2015–2017: Early Real Madrid career

On 21 January 2015, Real Madrid reached an agreement to sign Ødegaard from Strømsgodset, after training with the senior team earlier in the month. The fee reported by Spanish media was around €3 million. Norwegian media reported, however, that the fee was 35 million kroner (approximately €4 million), which could rise to 70–75 million kroner (approximately €8–8.5 million) on certain conditions. In a press conference after the signing, Real Madrid announced that Ødegaard would train with both the club's first team and the reserves, Real Madrid Castilla. He would play for the latter team, which was managed by Zinedine Zidane at the time.

He made his unofficial debut for the reserves on 4 February, in a 3–3 friendly draw with Beijing Guoan. He was subsequently named in the first team's Champions League squad. Ødegaard was assigned the number 21. His official debut for Castilla came on 8 February, coming on in the last 20 minutes as a substitute in the 2–2 draw against Athletic Bilbao B in Segunda División B. On 21 February, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Barakaldo CF at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, opening the scoring after seven minutes.

In April, Ødegaard was dropped from Castilla after a run of four defeats, with staff finding problems with him training with the first team while playing for the reserves, in addition to a language barrier. First team manager Carlo Ancelotti called for fans to be patient while Ødegaard settles in a new country. On 29 April, he was included in Real Madrid's matchday squad for the first time for a home La Liga fixture against UD Almería, as Ancelotti was without Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić, and Karim Benzema through injury. However, he did not feature in the 3–0 victory.

On 23 May, in the final fixture of the season, he made his debut for Real Madrid as a 58th-minute substitute for hat-trick scorer and then-reigning FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in an eventual 7–3 home win over Getafe CF. He became the youngest debutant in the history of the club at 16 years and 157 days old.

Ødegaard was a regular starter for Castilla during the 2015–16 season. On 17 April 2016, he was praised in ''Diario AS'' for his performance in a 3–0 home win over SD Gernika Club, winning a penalty kick which Mariano scored. The result put the team top of the table. The team won the group ahead of Barakaldo CF on the last day, with Ødegaard scoring his first of the season in a 6–1 win over La Roda CF.

Ødegaard made his first start for Real Madrid on 30 November 2016, 679 days after signing for the club. He played the full 90 minutes against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey round of 32 as Madrid won 6–1.

2017–2020: Loans in Netherlands and Spain

On 10 January 2017, Dutch club SC Heerenveen confirmed that Ødegaard had joined them on loan for 18 months. He had also been close to agreeing a deal with Barcelona, according to his agent, but the Catalan's club transfer ban at the time proved a pivotal factor. He made his Eredivisie debut four days later in a 2–0 home win over ADO Den Haag, replacing Arbër Zeneli in the last seconds. After the game, he spoke to Fox Sports about how he was pleased with his new surroundings. His start to his time at Heerenveen was poor, having only one shot and one assist in his first seven games, and he was later confined to the substitutes' bench by manager Jurgen Streppel. He scored his first goal for the Frisians on 18 May in his 15th appearance, a 3–1 home loss to FC Utrecht in the first leg of a play-off semi-final (5–2 aggregate).

In the 2017–18 season, Ødegaard became a regular starter. He scored his first regular-season goal for Heerenveen on 18 November 2017, in a 4–0 win at FC Twente.

On 21 August 2018, Real Madrid announced that Ødegaard would be loaned again for the 2018–19 season, joining another Eredivisie club, SBV Vitesse.

On 5 July 2019, he was loaned to Real Sociedad for one season, with Real Madrid retaining the option to recall the player or extend the loan for an additional season after the first year. On 25 August, he scored his first La Liga goal in a 1–0 victory over Mallorca at the Estadi Mallorca San Moix. On 14 September, he scored his second goal for the club in a 2–0 home victory over Atletico Madrid at the Anoeta Stadium, in what was regarded by pundits as a man-of-the-match performance. He registered his first assist with a 20-yard line-breaking pass to Mikel Oyarzabal against fellow Basques Deportivo Alavés, in a move praised by fans and pundits alike for its technique. In September 2019, Ødegaard was named La Liga Player of the Month.

In February 2020, he scored against Real Madrid to help his loan club eliminate his parent club from the 2019–20 Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage. Real Sociedad reached the final of the competition, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain; they also qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League after finishing sixth in La Liga and the season was a successful one for Ødegaard on a personal level. He missed the end of the season having been diagnosed in June with tendinopathy, a problem that had also occurred some months earlier.

After being recalled from loan by Real Madrid in 2020, Ødegaard started the club's opening game of the 2020–21 La Liga season away to Real Sociedad, in a 0–0 draw. On 25 November, he made his Champions League debut for Real Madrid in a 2–0 away win over Inter Milan.

Arsenal

2020–21: Midseason loan

After making only nine appearances during Real Madrid's opening half of the season following his loan spell at Real Sociedad, Ødegaard made it clear he wanted to leave the club during the winter transfer window in search of first-team football. On 27 January 2021, Ødegaard joined English Premier League club Arsenal on loan until the end of the season. He admired the club's direction and the team's style of play, from which he decided that Arsenal would be "a club that really suits me well." Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's first team manager, was adamant that Ødegaard would provide quality in attacking options and that everyone at the club was excited to be integrating him into Arsenal's plans.

Three days after he signed, he made his debut against rivals Manchester United in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Emile Smith Rowe in a 0–0 home draw. On 14 February, he made his first league start for Arsenal in a 4–2 home win over Leeds United. On 18 February, Ødegaard started in his first Europa League match for Arsenal in a 1–1 away draw against Benfica in the first leg of the round of 32 tie. On 11 March, Ødegaard scored his first goal for Arsenal with a 20-yard strike in a 3–1 away win over Olympiacos in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie. That goal was later voted as the Goal of the Month in March on the Arsenal official website. On 14 March, Ødegaard scored in back to back games, picking up his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 203rd North London derby. Due to his stellar performance in March 2021, he was later voted as the Player of the Month on Arsenal’s official website.

2021–present: Permanent transfer and club captaincy

On 20 August 2021, Arsenal announced the permanent signing of Ødegaard in a deal worth €35 million with potential add-ons rising to around €40 million. Ødegaard signed a four-year deal until 2025 with the club having an option to extend for a fifth year. He would make his first appearance of the season in a 5–0 away defeat against Manchester City, a match for which a ten-man Arsenal were completely outplayed and were reduced to the bottom of the Premier League table. He scored his first goal of the season with a free kick in a 1–0 away win against Burnley. On 10 April 2022, with the help of a deflection off Danny Welbeck, Ødegaard scored a 30-yard goal against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium. His long-range late effort proved to be only a consolation in the 2–1 defeat. Arsenal would finish their Premier League campaign in fifth place, just missing out on Champions League football for the following season.

Following the departures of previous club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and interim captain Alexandre Lacazette, Arteta named Ødegaard as the new captain for Arsenal ahead of the 2022–23 season. He made his first appearance as captain in the club's season opener against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, which Arsenal won 2–0. On 21 August 2022, Ødegaard scored a brace in an away win against AFC Bournemouth in the first 11 minutes of the game. On 12 November 2022, During Arsenal's final Premier League fixture before the 2022 FIFA World Cup break, Ødegaard scored a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium to keep Arsenal at the top of the league table by five points. Ødegaard would win the Premier League Player of the Month award for November/December 2022. He became the first Arsenal player to win the award since Aubameyang won it in September 2019, and would become the second Norwegian to win the award, joining international teammate and close friend Erling Haaland.

On 15 January 2023, Ødegaard scored a goal in a 2–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, which was Arsenal's first away win against their rivals since 2014.

International career

Youth

Martin Ødegaard featured in the starting line-ups for the two home matches of the Norway national under-15 team against Sweden on 17 and 19 September 2013. Both matches were won by Norway, 2–1 and 2–0.

Ødegaard played for the Norway national under-16 team in a tournament with Scotland, the United States and France in Turkey in January 2014. He played the full 90 minutes in all three matches, which resulted in a win versus Scotland and two losses.

He was promoted to the Norway national under-17 team for the away match against Iceland on 28 February 2014. Ødegaard came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute, and helped secure a 2–1 win for his country. Subsequently, he was in the starting line-up for the next three away matches; in the 3–0 win against Iceland on 2 March, in the 2–3 loss against Turkey on 25 March and finally in the 0–3 loss against Greece on 30 March 2014.

In September 2014, he was selected for the Norway national under-21 team for the final match of 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He played the full match against Portugal, as a forward, but was unable to prevent the opponents from winning 2–1, despite being named Man of the Match.

An unused substitute for the senior team on 6 September 2015 against Croatia, he joined the under-21 team again the following day in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against England. He played the full 90 minutes in the match, which Norway lost 0–1 at home after a penalty goal by James Ward-Prowse.

Senior