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‘I fought like mad’ – Arsene Wenger reveals Arsenal star Mikel Arteta signed after his own failed attempt
The player trained with four of Europe's biggest clubs as a kid
ARSENE WENGER has revealed he tried to sign Martin Odegaard when he was a teenager.
The 25-year-old midfielder is hoping to captain Arsenal to Premier League glory this season.
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But as a teenager, he rejected a move to the Gunners in favour of joining Real Madrid.
Odegaard had several of the world's biggest club's vying for his signature at the age of 15 when he made his first-team debut for Stromsgodset.
He was invited to train at the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid.
On Odegaard's session with Arsene Wenger, the legendary manager said: "Yes, I remember him very well. We did fight like mad to get him.
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"I got him in a training session and I remember Steve Morrow brought him into training with his father.
"He reminded me of Cesc Fabregas, good vision, good technical quality, easy with professional players in the first-team.
"You could see something special there but in the end he has chosen to go to Real Madrid."
Odegaard was bought by the Spanish giants in 2015 for a reported fee of £3million.
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He initially joined the Real Madrid youth-team and was managed by his idol Zinedine Zidane.
He went on to make just 11 senior appearances for the club before being loaned out to Heerenveen, Vitesse, Real Sociedad and Arsenal.
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Mikel Arteta chose to make the move permanent for £30m in 2021 and Odegaard was handed the captaincy two years ago following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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