On Wednesday evening, The Athletic revealed that Arsenal are interested in signing Real Madrid maestro Martin Ødegaard this month.
The Athletic understand that the Gunners are one of the strongest candidates to sign the Norway international, along with Real Sociedad.
Interestingly, an old report from The Telegraph suggests that Arsenal have had their eye on the 22-year-old for many, many years.
The Telegraph‘s story from 2014 says that Arsène Wenger invited a 15-year-old Ødegaard to London Colney, as he tried to sign him amid interest from Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The Norwegian wonderkid travelled to north London with his father, took part in a training session and was given a tour of the facilities.
However, Real Madrid eventually ended up securing his signature for a fee of £2.3 million after signing him from Stromsgodset.
This just goes to show that Arsenal certainly aren’t making a panicked decision to target Ødegaard.
Their interest in the Drammen-born playmaker has been years in the making.
It could come home to roost this month if the Gunners can fend off Real Sociedad.
If they can pull it off, then it would be a fantastic signing to solve the lack of a creative source at the Emirates right now.
It could be a case of saying goodbye to Ö and hello to Ø in north London.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
