Martin Odegaard is one of the best players at Arsenal and is the captain of Norway, so here is everything you need to know about the midfielder leading his club and country.
The playmaker has been at Emirates Stadium since January 2021 after Arsenal initially hired Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid. His efforts over the latter half of that season convinced Gunners manager Mikel Arteta to return to Los Blancos in August and agree a £34m transfer.
Working under Arteta in north London has seen Odegaard continue to hit new heights in his abilities. Odegaard also replaced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Arsenal’s first-team captain in July 2022. He took the role permanently as an extension of Arteta who sets the standards.
Odegaard had spent six years at Real Madrid before leaving the Galacticos for Arsenal. Los Blancos paid Stromsgodset £2.5m to sign the playmaker whilst 16 years old in January 2015. But after a spate of loan transfer, he only featured 11 times for the Santiago Bernabeu team.
Real Madrid loaned Odegaard to Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem and Real Sociedad before his initial move to Arsenal in 2021. He also featured prominently for Los Blancos’ Castilla side as a rising talent. But who is Odegaard, really? Here is everything you need to know about him.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s age
At the time of writing, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is 25 years old. The midfielder was born on December 17, 1998 and began his career with Drammen Strong’s academy in 2005.
Where was Martin Odegaard born?
Martin Odegaard was born in Drammen, a city located in eastern Norway approximately 27 miles south-west of Oslo. It is also Norway’s sixth-largest city with a population of 100,000.
Martin Odegaard’s girlfriend, Helene Spilling
Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard seemingly confirmed Helene Spilling as his girlfriend in June 2023. The Norway maestro released a collection of photos together on Instagram after the pair were spotted attending the London Football Awards together in March of that year.
Odegaard also included images of Spilling attending Arsenal’s fixtures at Emirates Stadium to support her partner. Spilling is a Norwegian dancer and TV personality who has competed on Skal vi Danse, Norway’s answer to the BBC’s celebrity competition Strictly Come Dancing.
Spilling is two-and-a-half years older than Odegaard and has in excess of 125,000 followers on Instagram. She was also born in the Gjerdrum Municipality of Norway on April 17 in 1996.
What car does Martin Odegaard drive?
Martin Odegaard owns an Audi RSQ3 and has often been swarmed by Arsenal fans driving home from Emirates Stadium. The sports utility vehicle boasts a five-cylinder petrol engine and has a recommended retail price when bought from new of between £55.5k and £65.5k.
Martin Odegaard’s siblings: Mari, Emile and Kristoffer
Arsenal star Martin Odegaard comes from a family of six with the midfielder boasting three siblings. He has two sisters, Mari and Emile, and one brother, Kristoffer. Odegaard’s parents are father, former Norway and Stromsgodset midfielder Hans Erik, and mother, Lene Cecilie.
The Odegaard family are mostly private people who stay out of the limelight. His dad, Hans Erik, has remained involved in football since retiring as a player back in 2007. He played for 14 years between spells at Stromsgodset and Sandefjord before becoming a coach in 2009.
Hans Erik briefly worked as the manager of Real Madrid’s Under-17 side from 2015 to 2017 following Martin Odegaard’s switch. But he later returned to Mjondalen to coach the youth squad through 2018. The tactician also took charge of his former team, Sandefjord, in 2021.
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