I revived Martin Odegaard’s career – now I could be about to join him at Arsenal.
Roberto Olabe could be on his way to Arsenal in the future to join back up with former Real Sociedad star Martin Odegaard.
Olabe, who has announced his departure from his role as the La Liga club’s sporting director from next summer, has been heavily credited with kickstarting Odegaard’s career while he was their player, before he made the £30million move to north London in 2021. And now, talks are reportedly beginning to advance on the potential of the two reuniting at the Emirates Stadium next year.
Italian football expert Gianluca Di Marzio told MyBettingSites in November that a “new era” could begin with Olabe at Arsenal, after former sporting director Edu announced his departure from the club in the summer. Di Marzio said: “It’s already well known that Roberto Olabe will leave Real Sociedad and I have been told that he is in advanced talks with Arsenal to replace Edu, so I think he could start a new era at Arsenal.”
Foot Mercato reports that Olabe looks to be preferring the Gunners over other European clubs to discuss his future, with the 57-year-old Spaniard claimed to have given priority to Arsenal after positive talks.
Olabe has a close connection with one of Arsenal’s finest, Odegaard, after the Norwegian spent multiple successive seasons on loan at Sociedad – winning the Copa del Rey with the squad in 2019. Speaking to the Daily Star back in 2023, he sang the praises of the Arsenal captain, claiming he had all the attributes to become a stellar success throughout his career.
Olabe said: “Martin perfectly understood the game. That was his most important attribute. It was his interpretation of the game and what was happening around him at every single moment. His capacity to interpret the game was and is higher than the individual qualities. Because he thinks quickly, he is able to adapt and get one step ahead of opponents that people think are physically quicker.
“It wasn’t just one specific quality like control, receptions, last pass, shooting or set-pieces. His box of attributes was already full, complete.
“He had extraordinary values in a professional sense. He was serious about hard work, being a team player and he had the right mentality to continually improve. He wanted to be more every single day. With youth players you usually needed to push that, but not with this guy.”
So, could it be a match made in heaven if Olabe makes the move to the Gunners to join back up with one of his finest successes in Odegaard? If he’s able to unearth more talent-in-waiting, it could lead them to that much sought-after taste of Premier League glory.
