Arsenal have completed the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a five year contract for a fee believed to be in the region of €35 million (£30million).
The Norwegian spent the second half of last season at the Emirates on loan from Los Blancos and impressed Mikel Arteta across his 20 appearances, scoring twice and assisting two more goals for his team.
It had looked for a while like he might be staying at Madrid this summer after he returned to the Bernabeu for pre-season under new manager Carlo Ancelotti.
But after being left out of Real's squad for their La Liga opener against Alaves, the 22-year-old has secured a permanent move to North London with a view to getting more regular game time.
football.london understands that a first refusal clause has been inserted into the deal, which means Real Madrid will be given the opportunity to match any offer received for Odegaard in a potential future transfer.
Signing a creative midfielder has been a priority for the Gunners all summer with James Maddison of Leicester City and Lyon's Houssem Aouar among the players targeted.
However, after playing a crucial role in helping Arsenal rise from relegation contenders to European hopefuls last season Arsenal opted to re-sign Odegaard.
football.london revealed as far back as March that the Norway captain was open to staying in North London long term after being impressed by Arteta and getting on well with his teammates.
And now after four different loan spells in his career, he has found a permanent home at the Emirates for the foreseeable future.
While Odegaard has signed ahead of the Premier League registration deadline for Sunday's game against Chelsea, he will not be involved against the Blues, with Arsenal still waiting on visa clearance for the Norway captain.
The deal takes the number of signings the Gunners have made this summer up to four after the arrivals of Ben White, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga earlier this window.
Edu is also hoping to secure a deal for a back up goalkeeper before deadline day on August 31st, with Aaron Ramsdale close to joining the club.
Arsenal could also be in for a right back and a centre forward before the window closes, but it is likely that players like Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will need to leave first before either of those deals can happen.
