‘I was really close to choosing Arsenal when I was younger. I was having steak with Arsene Wenger and thought, “Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries?”’ Martin Odegaard on almost joining Arsenal as a teenager

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The young Odegaard was one of Europe’s most sought-after players

Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger met with the young Odegaard (Image credit: Getty Images)

Martin Odegaard was barely a teenager when the rumours linking him with a move to some of Europe’s biggest clubs began.

The midfielder would make his senior debut for Stromsgodset at the age of just 15 in 2014 and he would soon set the Tippeligaen record for the Norwegian league’s youngest goalscorer. A whirlwind tour of the continent’s best clubs would follow, as the youngster faced a life-changing decision before his 16th birthday.

He would go on to sign for Real Madrid in a €4million deal, quickly becoming the club’s youngest-ever player, but not until he had met with an assortment of household names.

Odegaard on being courted by Wenger and Europe’s top clubs

Martin Odegaard

Odegaard made his senior debut as a 15-year-old

“Yes, it was a strange experience,” Odegaard tells FourFourTwo. “I was 15 years old and all of a sudden flying around in private jets, meeting top managers and players.

“It was nice, too. I felt like I was living the dream. I’d always wanted to play for the biggest clubs, in the biggest leagues – and suddenly I was there.”

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Odegaard’s father handled much of the business, leaving Martin to absorb the scale of it all, as the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and even Arsenal made their moves.

While Madrid would win out, it was clear the Gunners left a lasting impression thanks to a dinner with Arsene Wenger.

“I was actually really close to choosing Arsenal,” he admits. “I trained at London Colney, and Arsene Wenger took me and my dad out for dinner. I kept telling myself, ‘It’s Arsene Wenger…’

“I grew up watching him on TV, and then suddenly I was sitting across from him eating steak. I remember thinking, ‘Is he going to judge me if I eat the fries? Should I eat them or not?’”

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard gestures during a Premier League match, December 2022

Arsenal would eventually get their man when Odegaard signed in 2021 (Image credit: Alamy)

Odegaard smiles as he recalls that dietary dilemma, a reminder that despite the high-level meetings and seven-figure fees being discussed, he was still a teenager trying to figure out where he belonged.

“I decided to go to Real Madrid because I felt that was the better option at the time,” he explains. “But yes, it was really close.”

Arsenal would, of course, end up getting their man seven years later, when he signed up at the Emirates on loan in January 2021, before completing a permanent move that summer.

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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