Martin Odegaard names former Real Madrid teammate he’d love Arsenal to sign | Football

Martin Odegaard revealed the former Real Madrid teammate he would love to have at Arsenal as the two sides prepare to lock horns in the Champions League.

Odegaard joined Real Madrid at the age of 16 back in January 2015 after impressing at boyhood club Strømsgodset.

The Norwegian initially spent time in the reserve team under the tutelage of then-manager Zinedine Zidane before being sent on loan for four 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 permanent at the end 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.

Odegaard will have the chance to face off against his former side for the first time in an Arsenal shirt when the two teams collide in the Champions League quarter-finals after the international break.

In fact, it will be the first time that the two sides have met in a competitive fixture since their last-16 clash in the Champions League back in March 2006.

Sizing up some of his former teammates in an interview with TV2 Sport, Odegaard namechecked Vinicius Junior as the world’s best player and someone who he would love to be reuinted with at the Emirates.

‘Now I just said that Vinicius is the best in the world 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 of Arsenal’s recent matchday programmes, the 26-year-old said: ‘Of course, these will be two very important matches against Real Madrid, and for me personally, it will be special to play against my former team.

‘We believe in ourselves and we know what we can do. Our performances in the Champions League have been very good, winning seven of our ten matches so far.

‘We’re looking forward to the first leg here at the Emirates Stadium next month. It will be a great evening.’

Arsenal keeper David Raya, meanwhile, is confident his side can harness the experience of their disappointing exit to Bayern Munich last season to help them try and go one step further this time around.

‘This is a great club and the team is incredible. We are going in the right direction to achieve things, it is a matter of time,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘Everybody wants to win the Champions League and everyone knows how hard it is. Last year I thought we did a really good campaign. We were so close to beating Bayern Munich to go into the semi-finals.

‘We are going in the right direction. We have that experience now and not many players had played in the Champions League before. We look forward to it and accept the challenge.

‘We have a big challenge ahead playing Real Madrid. It is the one you really wanted to play when you were young.’

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