'I rejected Arsenal after flying in on private jet for steak and transfer talks with manager'

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard may be a vital player for Mikel Arteta now, but there was a time when he turned down the Gunners after enjoying a steak dinner with former manager Arsene Wenger . At just 16, Odegaard had his pick of clubs to join after making his debut for Norway's national team at 15 and breaking through at Stromsgodset in his homeland.

Despite holding talks with several Premier League outfits, including Arsenal and Liverpool , the young midfielder opted for a move to Real Madrid in January 2015, rubbing shoulders with football icons like Toni Kroos and Cristiano Ronaldo .

However, his time in Madrid was marked by frustration . After playing for the reserves, his spell in Real's first team was interspersed with loan stints in the Netherlands, and later Real Sociedad, as he struggled to make an impact as a youngster.

The 26-year-old has previously revealed that he could've been an Arsenal player much earlier, but even Wenger couldn't convince him to make the move to north London at that point in his career.

He chose the La Liga titans not only because they were the reigning European champions, but also due to the club's structure and their first team pathway, reports Football London .

"My dad handled everything with the clubs and there were a lot," Odegaard told the The Players' Tribune in February 2023. "We went to Bayern, Dortmund, Man Utd, Liverpool, Madrid, Arsenal too. We got flown around in private planes and made to feel special.

"I'm not just saying this... I was actually close to choosing Arsenal. When we went there, I got to train at London Colney. I met Arsene Wenger. He took me and dad out for dinner. That was cool, but strange too. It's Arsene Wenger, you know? He's this legend I grew up watching on TV, and now I'm sitting across from him eating steak. I was so nervous.

"I was just sitting there thinking, 'Is he analysing me right now? Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries? Maybe I should just leave them.' Hahaha!"

On his decision to move to Real, he added: "So, why Real Madrid then? I talked about it a lot with my dad and the rest of my family. In the end, Madrid is Madrid.

"They were the Champions League holders with the best players in the world . Back then, I loved Isco - he was so smooth on the ball. Another one of my kind of players!".

"But the really key thing about Madrid's offer was that they had a B team where I could play competitive football immediately. And the manager of that team? Zinedine Zidane. It felt like the total package.

"Before we officially told them, I remember sitting with my dad on the sofa watching a Real Madrid game on TV. At one point, he turned to me with his phone in his hand like, 'Is it time? Should we tell them?'".

"We'd been speaking about the decision for so long, as it was so hard to turn down all these other amazing clubs. But then we did it. He'd had the draft saved in his phone for like a week or two already. This really simple message. It was something like, 'Martin has decided he wants to come, if you still want him.' I just told him, 'Send it.'".

The Norwegian star initially joined Arsenal on a six-month loan deal in January 2020. Odegaard then completed a permanent switch the following summer, with the Gunners paying £30million plus add-ons.

He has since emerged as the club's captain on the field, receiving the armband prior to the 2022/23 season . He has presided over a spell of three successive runner-up spots and netted 41 times in 201 outings.

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