Arsene Wenger reveals he ‘fought like mad’ to sign current Arsenal star

Arsene Wenger has revealed he was desperate to sign a teenage Martin Odegaard before he joined Real Madrid.

The current Gunners captain was earmarked as a prodigy after he made his debut as a 15-year-old for Stromsgodset, which alerted the attention of Europe’s heavyweight clubs.

Odegaard subsequently trained with the likes of Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Arsenal before making a decision on joining a club that would best nurture his obvious talent.

Ultimately, the Norway international found it impossible to resist the temptation of joining Real and learning from his idol, Zinedine Zidane, much to the frustration of Wenger.