Guardiola recalls how many minutes it took for Odegaard to stun him in training

The Arsenal skipper had a trial as a youngster at Bayern Munich when Pep Guardiola was the German club’s head coach.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed it took Martin Odegaard just ‘five minutes’ to impress him on trial at Bayern Munich.

Aged 15 at the time, Odegaard did a few trial training sessions at Bayern in 2014. He made a lasting impression on the Bundesliga giants. They hoped to sign him from Norwegian club Stromsgodset, but Real Madrid beat them to do it.

Odegaard later joined Arsenal on an initial loan in January 2021 before completing a permanent €35 million switch in August of that year.

“I remember perfectly, he came with his father for two or three days of training sessions,” Guardiola said of Odegaard in a press conference on Tuesday.

“I needed five minutes to think, ‘this player plays good’. He made a tour all over Europe, training for however many clubs.”

‘He has been really good’

This season, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta appointed Odegaard as the club’s captain. The Norwegian has since continued to excel in the Gunners midfield. In fact, no Premier League midfielder has bettered Odegaard’s 12-goal tally.

“In the end, Arsenal was attractive for him, an exceptional player, captain at his age in Arsenal in a short time there is because you have to be a special personality, has the strength to be captain,” Guardiola continued.

“Mikel wouldn’t give him captaincy if he didn’t have the strength to be captain.”

On Odegaard’s performances this season, Guardiola added: “He’s been really good.

“Moves really good in the pockets around the box – not a player just to make assists – and winning games, scoring goals. Really good.”

Guardiola’s City team will play Odegaard and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. For details and betting tips, check out the Ace Football match preview here.