Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has taken a dig at former club Real Madrid.
Odegaard was first lured to Arsenal by Arteta on loan from Madrid before making his move permanent in a 30million deal in the summer of 2021.
Speaking to The Players' Tribune, Odegaard said: They were all very kind, and the ones who spoke English Kroos, Modric, Ronaldo took extra care of me in the beginning. They gave me advice and helped me a lot.
But honestly I don't think any of them were particularly worried about a 16-year-old from Norway taking their place in the team.
We made this plan with the club that I would train every day with the first team but get regular game time with the B team. It seemed like a smart plan at the time, but it worked out that I ended up not finding my place with either group.
With the B team, I wasn't with them regularly so I didn't find that connection. In the first team, I was just some kid who came to train. I wasn't involved in matches. I felt a bit like an outsider. I was stuck in between.
I stopped playing with the spark that was typical of my game. I went a bit too safe for a time. I was worrying more about not making mistakes than actually playing my game.
My game was always about making a difference. Playing the difficult pass. I can understand why it happened now. I was still a little kid, but I've learned that you have to be ruthless. You have to not give a f***. You have to show the real you on the pitch."