Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has hailed Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard as ‘one of the best players in Europe’ ahead of the Champions League quarter-final.
Odegaard spent six years at Real Madrid earlier in his career but only made 11 appearances for the first-team before being sold to Arsenal in 2021.
Arsenal decided to spend £30m on the Norwegian after a bright loan spell at the Emirates Stadium and that fee has proved to be an absolute bargain.
Odegaard has been one of the most influential players at Arsenal over the past four seasons, making close to 200 appearances for the club and being handed the captain’s armband.
Ancelotti has been impressed by Odegaard’s development and believes he is now ‘one of the best players in Europe’.
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‘I saw him as a real young player,’ Ancelotti said at his pre-match press conference on Monday evening.
‘The talent he has now is the same talent he had at 17-years-old. He has had courage to go elsewhere and seek new opportunities to become one of the best players in Europe.’
Asked about Odegaard’s decision to leave Real Madrid, Ancelotti added: ‘There was no space for him to show his quality.
‘He decided to go elsewhere, because of the possibility to go elsewhere to play. To one of the best clubs in the Champions League.’
Arsenal thrashed PSV 9-2 across two legs to book their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Reigning champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, edged out arch-rivals Atletico in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Arsenal are second in the Premier League ahead of their tie against Real Madrid, having been held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the weekend.
Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat at home to Valencia on Saturday to slip four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
On Arsenal and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, Ancelotti added: ‘Arsenal is very strong and powerful from set pieces.
‘We’ll try to defend as best we can, but we can also hurt the other team from set pieces. It’s a very important aspect of the game.
‘Mikel is doing a fantastic job. In five years he has taken this team to the top of Europe, he is doing very well.
‘He has built a complete team, and there are not many complete teams in Europe. There are not many complete teams like Arsenal.’
Arteta also heaped praise on Odegaard ahead of the mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final.
‘I think it’s very important for the football club because we recruited a player who fits every quality to deliver performances, the demands that we want and then the person who is an exceptional representative of the values of this football club,’ he said.
‘Our history and it has been pivotal from where we were to where we are, the role that he’s played and how much he has contributed to getting us to where we are at the moment.’
Asked about the threat and ‘aura’ of Real Madrid, Arteta added: ‘There are things that we cannot control which is what they are going to prepare and what they can do.
‘We have to focus and our energy has to be on that. Understanding what puts us in our strengths and what puts us in our weaknesses and the direction that we want to play in the game.
‘That’s the history and they have earned that because of the mindset that they have. So you can’t ignore that, that’s a fact.
‘I don’t want to talk about it because we all know about it, so let’s talk about what we have to build and what we have to do, and how we can feel inspired by these occasions and look at what we do.
‘And the fact that they haven’t been successful all the time, because it’s impossible – so from 20 times, maybe you win five, that means that you haven’t won the rest of the 15, so it’s very difficult to do it.
‘We’re in a position that we have competed against any team in the last two years that we have faced, so we can do it again.’
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