Premier League side Arsenal want to keep Odegaard

Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard on a five-month loan deal from Real Madrid in the January transfer window, but less than two months after arriving in north London, the Gunners have seen enough to decide that they want him to stay on a permanent basis.

The 22-year-old playmaker has made 10 appearances so far for Arsenal and has scored in his last two games, with the latest coming in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

Now, the Daily Mail report that Arsenal are keen on either extending Odegaard's loan deal for another season, so he would return to Real Madrid in the summer of 2022, or keeping him at the Emirates Stadium on a permanent basis.

"He helps us to do the processes much better," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told the Gunners' official website after Odegaard opened his account against Olympiacos.

"He helps us as a team because he gives us a lot of continuity on the ball.

"He's really intelligent to find the spaces, he attracts a lot of opponents. We ask him to score goals, to arrive in the box.

"Today, he scored a brilliant goal and his contribution was really important for the team."

In Real Madrid's hands

Arsenal have been preparing to try and keep Odegaard, either on loan or permanently, for some time now, but everything will depend on what Real Madrid want to do.

"We have Martin for a few months from Real Madrid and first of all we have to maximise this time with him to try to bring to the team all the qualities he has," Arteta said a few weeks ago.

"At the end of the season we will sit together and decide where we can take that relationship forward. At the moment it doesn't just depend on us."