Martin Odegaard 'happy at Arsenal' but future is in Real Madrid's hands

Martin Odegaard admits he is uncertain where his future lies beyond the season but claims he is happy to remain at Arsenal.

The midfielder has enjoyed a second half of the campaign on loan at the Emirates Stadium after arriving from Real Madrid in January. 

But the Norwegian is now set for talks at the Bernabeu in the summer regarding his future and whether there are plans to use him more in the first team next term. 

‘I am happy here at Arsenal, we will see after the season what will happen,’ the 22-year-old told Sky Germany.

‘I’m owned by Real Madrid, so we have to speak to them. It’s important to understand what they want.’

Odegaard has settled into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI, playing 18 games and scoring two goals during his spell.

However, there was no purchase option as part of his loan deal so he is expected to return to Madrid at the end of the season, with the Spanish side likely to be looking for a new manager pending the expected departure of Zinedine Zidane who is set to resign.

Arsenal would likely have to pay a hefty transfer fee for Odegaard who made headline news when he joined Madrid as a wonderkid 16-year-old in 2015 as he still has two years left on his contract.

Arteta will be keen to keep hold of Odegaard having already let the Arsenal board know that he wants to be backed in the transfer market this summer.

Although he is likely going to have to raise funds by selling out of favour stars, the Arsenal boss believes he still needs to be handed funds for a rebuild, saying: ‘I think is clear that if we want to improve the team we need some resources.’

Arsenal head into their final two games of the season, needing to win at Crystal Palace and at home to Brighton to have a realistic chance of playing European football next term.