The Norwegian endured six largely unproductive years at the Bernabeu which saw him be shipped on loan to Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem, Real Sociedad and Arsenal for six months before joining the Gunners permanently. Odegaard, 25, found his home at the Emirates Stadium, earning Mikel Arteta's trust and, within 18 months, the Gunners' captaincy.
It was seemingly love at first sight for Arteta when he saw Odegaard step onto the field in an Arsenal jersey. The Gunners would go on to sign the silky midfielder permanently in a deal believed to be worth around £30million.
Between Odegaard arriving on loan and him signing on the dotted lines permanently, Arteta was putting on a charm offensive to make the Norwegian call North London home. While the Spaniard was buttering up Odegaard, Real Madrid were furious with both the Gunners boss' public courting and the Norwegian for not refusing to rule out a permanent switch.
Before Arsenal's first Premier League match of the new season, Odegaard told the club's official YouTube channel: "It was annoying. Everyone just saw me as the young kid and you just want to be looked at as a normal player. I think it’s normal as well when you play at such a young age, it comes with a bit more attention.
"But as soon as you get older, and get more minutes, I think people start to forget your age and see your quality. They don’t care too much about your age and that’s the main thing."
Real Madrid's frustration with Odegaard emerged barely one month into his loan spell at the Emirates. When Odegaard was asked by the press if he would like to remain at Arsenal permanently, Los Blancos were angered when he said: "You never know what happens, but first of all my focus is about the rest of the season."
Real Madrid were angry with Arteta and Odegaard's comments during the player's initial loan spell at Arsenal
Odegaard's comment was the typical answer of a player with an uncertain future - balanced, guarded and designed to not rule anything out and make any headlines. Despite his best efforts, Real Madrid's top brass were furious, according to Defensa Central. At the time, Arsenal were not able to negotiate an obligation to buy clause into their loan deal, such was Real Madrid's determination to hold onto him.
The club reportedly wanted Odegaard to clearly state his future was at the Bernabeu. Elsewhere, Arteta was putting Odegaard on a pedestal. The Spaniard said: "Well, he's got the potential [to be one of the best]. I followed him very closely when he was at Real Sociedad and he was really impressive over there for long periods.
"He had a really successful season over there and that's one of the reasons why I was so convinced that he's a player for us. He's a player that I really like and, as you say, still has huge potential to become even better." He added: "All positive from my first conversations with him. He's a really focused and humble boy that was really keen to join. He's a really nice guy, the players like him, the staff like him, he's easygoing, a really hard worker and I've been very impressed with his leadership. He looks a little bit calm but on the pitch he's got something about him."
the lofty expectations placed on him since he joined Real Madrid as a 16-year-old all the way back in 2015. Despite being a Real player for six years, Odegaard only made 11 senior appearances for the club.
He has spoken on numerous occasions about what went wrong at the Bernabeu. Similarly to other players, he felt the famously volatile Spanish press put too many expectations on him. In a previous interview, he said: "After a couple of years, I just wasn't progressing. The press came after me for not immediately living up to the hype.
"I was an easy target....Maybe If I'd been Spanish, I might have been given a bit more time to grow. Honestly, I don't know. In the end, it's just the nature of the hype machine. There is no in-between in modern football. You're either the best signing in history, or you're s***.”
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