'Liverpool are my dream club – but I turned them down and now play for Arsenal instead'

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Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard once confessed that Liverpool were his dream club. The Reds are set to face the Premier League leaders at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, with the Gunners holding a 14-point lead over Arne Slot's reigning champions after just 20 matches.

Leading Mikel Arteta 's side will be the in-form Odegaard, who could pose a huge threat to Liverpool after contributing three goal involvements in his last three appearances. However, there was a time when the Norwegian midfielder might have chosen to ply his trade at Anfield, given the mutual admiration between him and the club.

Odegaard was one of the most sought-after young talents in the world in his teens, drawing interest from many of Europe's top clubs. This included Liverpool, where he even spent several days training with the first team and touring the facilities at Melwood in December 2014.

The then-15 year old prodigy, who had just become the youngest player ever to feature in a European Championship qualifier, was contemplating which club to join from Stromsgodset at the time, along with his father.

Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund , Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal all held talks with the youngster, eager to secure his signature for their respective clubs. Ultimately, Odegaard chose to sign for Real Madrid instead of Brendan Rodgers ' Liverpool in a high-profile transfer .

That came after he had told Sport Bild in 2014 : "Liverpool have always been my dream club but I will not let this affect my decision when I choose a new club.

"It's all about finding the team that is best for me and for my development. That is not necessarily Liverpool. I haven't really thought about my future yet.

"I will end the season here and then visit a number of clubs. I have not made a final decision yet, though. Of course, it's flattering when you hear that big clubs are after you but I don't think about it too often."

Towards the end of the 2015 January transfer window , Odegaard was presented as a Los Blancos signing. Yet, he managed only 11 senior appearances for the club, finding it difficult to secure a place in the star-studded team as he instead featured 62 times for the Castilla team in the Spanish capital.

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Throughout his six-year spell with Los Blancos, he had loan stints in the Netherlands with Herenveen and Vitesse Arnhem before joining Real Sociedad on loan, where he lifted the Copa del Rey in 2019/20. His impressive performances for the Basque side caught the eye of newly-appointed Arsenal manager Arteta, thanks to the Spaniard's links with Sociedad.

He initially joined Arsenal on a loan deal in 2021 but secured a permanent switch that summer, thriving ever since in north London and being handed the captain's armband at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign.

Odegaard more recently explained the situation as a teenager to The Players Tribune : "My dad handled everything with the clubs, and there were a lot. We went to Bayern, Dortmund, Man Utd, Liverpool, Madrid, Arsenal too. We got flown around in private planes and made to feel special.

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"I’m not just saying this … I was actually close to choosing Arsenal. When we went there, I got to train at London Colney. I met Arsène Wenger. He took me and Dad out for dinner.

"That was cool but strange too. It’s Arsène Wenger, you know? He’s this legend I grew up watching on TV and now I’m sitting across from him eating steak.

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