Martin Odegaard admits his attempts to persuade Erling Haaland to join him at Arsenal were unsuccessful.
The Norwegian playmaker has spent the last 18 months at the Emirates, signing permanently last summer from Real Madrid. He's now been made club captain as the Gunners attempt to break back into the top four. They were on the look out for a No 9 this summer and eventually signed Gabriel Jesus.
Haaland though was on the market - but opted for a switch to Manchester City. Odegaard and Haaland team up at international level and there was often talk of the former trying to lure his compatriot to north London, albeit he wasn't able to do so.
He told FourFourTwo, ahead of the All or Nothing release: “We speak every day, we have a group on Snapchat with some of the guys in the national team. He’s a great guy, great player. Unfortunately for us, he’ll be a great player for them and score some goals! I wish him all the best… except for when we play them. Yeah, I tried [to convince him to join Arsenal]!
“When Arsenal fans were posting pictures of him and me in the shirt, I sent it to him, you know? I was working but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough! He just laughed. He’s a funny guy.”
Haaland endured an underwhelming debut for City in the Community Shield but is tipped to be a huge success at the Etihad. He burst onto the scene with Red Bull Salzburg and scored 86 times in 89 games following his move to Germany with Borussia Dortmund.
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Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona were among those keen on Haaland, but it was City who won the race for his signature and he's been tipped for big things by teammate Phil Foden. He told Sky Sports : "He's a great addition to the team, makes everyone laugh and is humble which is important when you come to a team.
"He's hungry to achieve things with us which can only mean good things. In front of goal he's scary. He's coming to a complete different league [with] much faster football, so it might take him a little (time) to get used to, but I'm sure when he's in his flow he's going to be unstoppable."
Haaland's arrival in Manchester was a factor in Jesus' decision to move south and reunite with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. The Brazilian's minutes were set to be hampered and he was seeking regular football - starting in time in north London impressively in pre-season.
