Arsenal have completed the signing of Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old midfielder made it clear he wanted to leave in January in order to play regular first-team football, having played just nine times in all competitions for Real Madrid this season.
Mikel Arteta will be able to call upon Odegaard for Saturday’s clash with Manchester United with the Norwegian to wear the number 11 shirt at the Emirates.
Odegaard’s decision to move to the Premier League was aided by a chat with the Arsenal manager.
“I spoke to him (Arteta) before coming here, of course,” Odegaard told Arsenal’s website. “That was very important for me and he seems like a top manager and I liked his ideas, the way he sees football and also the way he is.
“He gave me a great feeling and that was important for me to come here. He was crucial.
“I think every time you go to a new place, you want to make sure that it feels good and that there is a plan. But I think everything here just seems good. I like the club and I always liked the way that the club wants to play. Everything about the club and now how the manager wants to play, I think it’s a club that really suits me well. So I think it’s a good match.”
Arteta said: “It’s great that we’ve secured Martin to come to us until the end of the season. Martin is of course a player that we all know very well and although still young, he has been playing at the top level for a while. Martin will provide us with quality offensive options and we’re all excited to be integrating him into our plans between now and May.”
Real Sociedad were keen on re-signing Odegaard following his season-long loan stint last year, but it is thought Real Madrid’s preference was to send him to a club outside La Liga.