real Madrid Fans believed Martin Odegaard would fit the cliché of being ‘like a new signing’ for the 2020-2021 season, instead of any actual signing during the economic crisis, with Los Blancos keeping tabs on Galacticos Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland for 2021 .

But instead of thriving in Madrid and playing the extinct La Liga football he did in the first half of the 2019-20 season, Odegaard barely played. He had some good times against players like Inter Milan and former club Real Sociedad, but overall Odegaard was a shockingly unimportant part of the squad. So much so that he decided he had enough and applied for a moving loan.

A return to La Real was under consideration, but after acquiring experienced David Silva as a midfielder replacement, there was no roster or monetary space for the Norwegian. Instead, Real Madrid sent Odegaard to the Premier League along with compatriot Dani Ceballos in the Arsenal Midfielder. Mikel Arteta convinced Odegaard that it would be important for an Arsenal side lacking in creativity and significantly underperforming.

Odegaard didn’t record big numbers in his first appearances for the north London club, but he shows the creativity and technical quality Arsenal desperately needed. And that has made a lot of their fans excited about what he can do during the season.

Martin Odegaard has already played more minutes with Arsenal than with Real Madrid

Already, Odegaard has equaled the league minutes he played at Real Madrid (233) at Arsenal with 231 Premier League minutes and 180 additional Europa League minutes in two starts against 135 in the Champions League for Los Merengues.

Odegaard is preparing to play a pivotal role in Arsenal’s attack this season, and manager Mikel Arteta hinted at his desire to keep the 22-year-old around. He was very successful in convincing the playmaker of his project, and he rewarded him with minutes accordingly. Arteta and Odegaard’s relationship could be more positive than Odegaard’s with Zinedine Zidane, as Zidane hasn’t played him much. But it wasn’t due to incompetence or dislike of the player; it was probably to prevent Odegaard from aggravating a knee injury.

Arsenal and Arteta likely see an open door to keeping Odegaard longer than the second half of the 2020-2021 season, either on another loan or a permanent transfer. The latter seems unthinkable, and the former doesn’t even seem to be on the table either. After all, Real Madrid surely know Odegaard’s abilities and understand the important role he could play as an attacking midfielder next season, especially if they manage to sign his galactic compatriot Erling Haaland.

But Arteta and Arsenal have a fighting chance. Madridistas cannot get arrogant and ignore the possibility, as unlikely as it may seem at the moment. At the same time last year, who predicted that Achraf Hakimi will go to Inter or Sergio Reguilon allying with José Mourinho with the other big club in north London?

Odegaard’s situation is fluid. It shouldn’t be, and it should actually be Real Madrid. But you never know what might change by then, especially if the player enjoys his football at Arsenal under Arteta.