Martin Odegaard left out of Real Madrid La Liga squad

Martin Odegaard has been left out of Real Madrid’s La Liga squad for the upcoming season, amid serious interest from Arsenal.

His omission casts further doubt over his future with the midfielder not even being handed a squad number.

Odegaard joined Real as a teenager back in 2015 but has spent the majority of his career out on loan. Most recently he joined Arsenal for the second half of the 2020/21 campaign after failing to break into the first team at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

At the start of the summer Odegaard was expected to remain in Madrid and fight for his place. However, as the weeks have passed he has been increasingly linked with a move away. That now seems extremely likely with Los Blancos leaving Odegaard out of their La Liga squad, as reported by the Mirror.

The development will interest Arsenal who have remained in contact with the player’s representatives constantly during the transfer window. The Gunners have been desperate to add creativity to their midfield and were suitably impressed with Odegaard’s contribution last season.

Previously James Maddison, Emiliano Buendia and Philippe Coutinho were also being considered. 90min understands that Odegaard is currently top of the club’s wish list though, and the club are back in talks with Real Madrid for the 22-year-old. 

Signing the midfielder would go a long way to satisfying Arsenal’s ambitions in the transfer market. At the beginning of the club hierarchy sanctioned a £250m outlay on a goalkeeper, centre-back, full-back and two midfielders. 

So far they have signed Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ben White and Nuno Tavares. They are also inching closer to a deal for Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. 

Adding Odegaard to their ranks would be a significant boost for Mikel Arteta as he looks to improve on the Gunners’ poor eighth-placed finish last time out. They kick off their Premier League campaign against Brentford on Friday.