Ever since his arrival, Martin Odegaard has been an instrumental figure at Arsenal, becoming the very personification of the club’s ethos and ambitions. From an impressionable young footballing genius struggling to fulfil his potential at Los Blancos, Odegaard was slowly transformed into a steely captain with a different mentality. He is a key man for the Gunners. His journey is not just inspirational because of Baker’s growth but because adversity shapes the core of the player.
In a candid conversation with The Players’ Tribune in 2023, Odegaard reflected on the challenges he faced during his time at Real Madrid. At 15 years old, he was already being heralded as one of Europe’s next big stars. Those next two years in Spain were some of the most difficult of his life. When he arrived at Arsenal, Odegaard had worked through his early frustrations. He accepted the responsibility of making every game his team’s most important player and captain talisman.
Carlo Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid during Odegaard’s tenure, expressed doubts about the Norwegian’s future at the club. He said, “I really didn’t give a **** if he came. He’s no longer going to play for me.” When Ancelotti said that, most of the football experts and supporters had already given Odegaard a death sentence. There was skepticism that he would ever realize his top potential in the professional ranks.
Odegaard’s meteoric rise as a soccer star first started at Stromsgodset, where he attracted world-wide attention for his incredible talent and poise. His move to the Norwegian club was seen as a major win for them. This victory is all the more impressive, considering that Barcelona was after his signature. David Nielsen, a close observer of Odegaard’s career, stated, “I couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to Barcelona because he’s more of a Barcelona player.” In a testament to his understanding of young player development, Nielsen understood that this transition to a club of Real Madrid’s stature was necessary for Odegaard’s development. He was so good that it became the obvious decision. You have to go to the highest level club with highest level players, that’s where you learn,” Nielsen said.
Odegaard’s time at Real Madrid turned out to be one of frustration. He featured just once for the senior team under Ancelotti—a brief substitute cameo in a 7-3 win over Getafe. As the 22-year-old trained with the first-team squad, Ancelotti’s lack of interest quickly set in. Rather than being fully inducted into the first team, Odegaard mainly covered matches for Real Madrid’s Castilla youth squad. Ancelotti was quick to identify this setup as a toxic problem, one that played a key role in Odegaard’s failure to find his rhythm and belief.
Looking back on those difficult years, Odegaard admitted that they were key to defining his career. “Going to Madrid was a good thing for me,” he stated. Even more than that, I learned a ridiculous amount about what it really takes to get to the top. I soaked it in, I trained, I learned from the best players in the world, my idols. I played at the Bernabeu. That’s where I learned how to be hard and deal with that kind of adversity. It’s part of who I am now. “Yet what his innate resilience has become during his time at Arsenal is the true bedrock of his success.
By 2023, Odegaard had settled comfortably into his new role as Arsenal’s captain, proving a positive influence on the pitch and off it. His performances have belied a level of maturity almost unrecognizable from his early years in Spain. Since then he has become a leading player for Arsenal. His overall contributions are fueling the team’s hopes to finish strong in both domestic and European competitions.
Although he was highly scrutinized during his developmental years at Real Madrid, Odegaard grew up resilient and relentless. Nielsen noted the pressures young players endure when under scrutiny: “The better you get, the more people will criticize you… Look at the amount of people who come out with strong opinions about Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world, for example. Now, picture having to go through that as an inexperienced player like Martin.
As Odegaard himself noted, these experiences had the potential to crush most players. “I have so much respect for the way he handled that. It’s unbelievable,” Nielsen added. “I will never know how he managed it. It would have broken every other player in the world, I think.”
Odegaard has been the tastemaker with Arsenal and the creativity has rocketed through the Gunners. His determination and desire to succeed provides an example to any future footballer. He’s turned those early failures into launching pads on his way to becoming great almost-man on the verge of something special in football. It’s the reason I became CIO and it’s the reason I’m where I am today,” he asserted.
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