Arsenal will inform Paris Saint-Germain that Martin Odegaard is not for sale at any price should the make a concrete offer for their skipper this summer. The 24-year-old former Real Madrid star has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, scoring 15 goals and registering seven assists over the course of a campaign that saw the Gunners mount a surprising challenge to Manchester City’s domestic dominance. Odegaard enjoys a strong relationship with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and remains a fundamental part of the Spaniard’s plan to bring major silverware back to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have already secured the long-term futures of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Magalhaes and hope to make a breakthrough in negotiations with William Saliba, who was said to be shocked by the France international’s wage demands. Arsenal are desperate to retain his services and avoid a situation whereby they may be forced to cash in on a prize asset, rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer.
Odegaard gave indication he remains committed to Arsenal despite their collapse at the end of the season which gifted the title to City. Speaking ahead of last Sunday’s 5-0 win over Wolves, he said: ‘With the position we’ve been in all season, we’re not happy with second place. Even though it’s a good achievement and probably everyone would have taken it before the season, we wanted to win it when we got into that position. It’s a good sign that we are disappointed, and I think we should be. But also we have done some great things this season and taken some big steps in the right direction. Last season we had a difficult end when we dropped out of the Champions League. But we used that anger and came back stronger this year, and we need to do the same thing again. We could have won the league, so let’s use this disappointment in a good way, learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen the same next season. This was my first season as captain and I think I’ve grown a lot. I’ve learned to take more responsibility and with the goals I’ve scored too, it’s been good for me. As my first season as captain here I think it’s been OK, but I feel like I can do a lot better too. I’m going to work hard to get better and that’s my main aim now. I know I can still improve so much. After today’s game first of all I’ll be getting a bit of rest, then next month I’ve got two important qualifiers with the Norway national team. We’ve got two home games, so I will join up there and hopefully it will be a good camp. Then after that, I’ll have two weeks off or something like that, so I will stay home in Norway and relax with family and friends. I’ll enjoy the Norwegian summer!’
Arsenal will inform Paris Saint-Germain that Martin Odegaard is not for sale at any price should they make a concrete offer for their skipper this summer. The 24-year-old former Real Madrid star has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, scoring 15 goals and registering seven assists over the course of a campaign that saw the Gunners mount a surprising challenge to Manchester City’s domestic dominance. Odegaard enjoys a strong relationship with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and remains a fundamental part of the Spaniard’s plan to bring major silverware back to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have already secured the long-term futures of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Magalhaes and hope to make a breakthrough in negotiations with William Saliba, who was said to be shocked by the France international’s wage demands. Arsenal are desperate to retain his services and avoid a situation whereby they may be forced to cash in on a prize asset, rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer.
Odegaard gave indication he remains committed to Arsenal despite their collapse at the end of the season which gifted the title to City. Speaking ahead of last Sunday’s 5-0 win over Wolves, he said: ‘With the position we’ve been in all season, we’re not happy with second place. Even though it’s a good achievement and probably everyone would have taken it before the season, we wanted to win it when we got into that position. It’s a good sign that we are disappointed, and I think we should be. But also we have done some great things this season and taken some big steps in the right direction