Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted after the FA Cup defeat to Southampton away from home that the club is negotiating the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid. He said he has to take some phone calls to find out how the talks are going.
Odegaard is very close to joining Arsenal. Even the 'Gunners' manager himself, Mikel Arteta, is talking about it openly. At the press conference following the FA Cup defeat away to Southampton, he admitted that he had a few calls pending to enquire about it.
"Obviously, because we played today, I haven't had any news since last night. I'll probably get some phone calls today and see where we are with the negotiation," he replied after being asked about the Real Madrid player.
The last coach to talk about this possible deal was the coach of Norway, the midfielder's national team. He took it for granted that his international pupil will end up signing for the remainder of the season in the Premier League.
Odegaard has been rumoured to be going on loan at Arsenal for a few days now due to his lack of importance in Zinedine Zidane's squad. Despite the quality he showed for Real Sociedad, he only made nine appearances for Madrid this season.