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Football London
Football London
Sport
Jamie Kemble

Arsenal star Martin Odegaard just won a Copa del Rey title despite playing in Liverpool defeat

Arsenal star Martin Odegaard won a trophy on Saturday night - despite playing in a defeat on the same evening.

Odegaard played a full 90 minutes for Arsenal in their disappointing 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool, and the performance was one of the quieter outings he has had since joining the Gunners.

The Norwegian midfielder has impressed since joining on loan from Real Madrid in January, so much so that Arsenal fans are clamouring for a permanent deal.

But Arsenal is not the only club Odegaard has impressed during a loan spell, having spent last season on loan at la Liga outfit Real Sociedad.

Arsenal's Summer Transfer Approach

Odegaard hugely impressed during his time at La Real, and one of his biggest achievements was helping the club to a Copa del Rey final.

The Norwegian played five of the seven games in Real Sociedad's run to the final, scoring three and assisting as many along the way to set up a special occasion for the Basque club.

Real Sociedad were set to play Athletic Club in the final last season in the first ever all-Basque Copa del Rey final, but both clubs agreed to delay it.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the clubs wanted to give fans the best opportunity of attending a historic occasion for the Basque autonomous community.

In fact, so much so that Athletic Club forfeited the chance of playing in European competition by doing so with Real Sociedad qualifying through the league.

In the end, the final was still played without fans, and it was played this evening at Andalusia's La Cartuja Stadium, and Real Sociedad came out on top.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot in the second half to secure what is La Real's second ever Copa del Rey title.

And that means Odegaard, who helped the club on their way to the final, is now a Copa del Rey champion, despite not being able to play this evening having since moved on.

Whether he will receive a medal is unconfirmed at this point, but it is very likely La Real will honour him with one in due course.

A sweet ending to what was a difficult evening for Odegaard against Liverpool, but not such a nice evening for Athletic Club, who lost to their biggest rivals in the final.

Though, in a strange twist of events, they Athletic are also in this season's final, which is being played in just two weeks time, giving them the chance to rip the title swiftly from the hands of Real Sociedad when they face Barcelona.

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