Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, has developed since his days as a young player at Real Sociedad, as Mikel Merino has described.
In his early professional career, the Norwegian traveled to Spain. In 2019, he signed a loan deal to play for Real Sociedad from Real Madrid. Before returning to Madrid in preparation for his significant move to north London in 2021, he made 36 appearances for the La Liga team, tallying seven goals and nine assists.
After just one full season with Arsenal, Odegaard’s achievement in the Premier League earned him the captain’s armband. Over the previous two seasons, he led the Gunners in thrilling title battles.
Playing with Odegaard in Spain, Merino thinks the 25-year-old has advanced significantly during his time in the Basque Country.
Merino and Odegaard played together in Spain / JOSE JORDAN/GettyImages
“It has been a long journey for him and for me,” the 28-year-old told reporters. “That finishes now playing together again. We played maybe four, five or six years ago. I saw him as this really talented kid that was just magic in the number 10 position.
“He made my job really easy because he’s the one who moves really good in the pockets, he turns, plays quick and for me, as a number eight back in the day, I used to find him a lot and he used to make my passes better. It’s amazing how he has evolved and developed.
“Now he’s a grown man, the captain, the leader of this club and you can hear the maturity in his voice, how he acts, talks to people and behaves on the pitch. It’s great to be back with him again and hopefully we can keep building that relationship and connection that we have.”
Merino made his first start for Arsenal during their disappointing 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday – during which the Gunners were forced to battle on with ten men after William Saliba was shown a red card for fouling Evanilson in the first-half.
The Spanish midfielder played 81 minutes until he was swapped for 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri. Meanwhile, Odegaard is yet to return from the injury he sustained during September’s international break.