Crucial Arsenal star is top Barcelona transfer target, Gunners will try to tie him down to new deal | OneFootball

Arsenal midfielder and club captain Martin Odegaard is reportedly emerging as a top transfer target for Barcelona for summer 2026.

However, the Gunners don’t want to sell the Norway international and will instead prioritise tying him down to a new contract, according to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes.

Odegaard is a world class talent on his day, and it makes sense that he’d be of interest to someone like Barca, but Arsenal surely need to do all they can to keep him at the Emirates Stadium.

Even if he’s had some recent injury problems, a fully fit Odegaard is a key part of how this Arsenal side plays, so it would be a big risk letting him go to another major European club.

Can Arsenal keep hold of Martin Odegaard?

Martin Odegaard in action for Arsenal (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Arsenal are building an exciting project and have done well in recent times to tie other star names down to new deals.

In recent months, we’ve seen the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri all commit to the club, so it would make sense for Odegaard to follow suit.

The 26-year-old surely has little reason to try to move on for a new challenge elsewhere, as this Arsenal team looks really close to finally going all the way in the Premier League title race, and could perhaps challenge for the Champions League as well.

Arsenal have lost stars to Barcelona in the past

There was a time when Barcelona were able to raid Arsenal for their star players, but Gooners will hope those days are over.

During the Arsene Wenger years, the Catalan giants poached AFC for stars like Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb and Alex Song, but the north Londoners no longer look like a selling club.

Odegaard previously played in Spain with Real Madrid, and had a loan spell with Real Sociedad, but it remains to be seen if he’d be desperate to move back to La Liga.