One Arsenal star reportedly left Pep Guardiola ‘totally impressed’ whilst on trial with one of the Catalan coach’s former clubs.
The Manchester City manager is regarded as one of the greatest of all time, with Guardiola leading the likes of FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now City to unprecedented success in the 21st century.
A key pillar to Guardiola’s triumphs has been his approach to developing young players on and off the pitch, with Lionel Messi and now Phil Foden just two prime examples of academy stars who saw their careers explode under the former Barcelona midfielder.
And one current Arsenal star could have received similar treatment had Guardiola signed him at 16-years-old.
Guardiola left ‘impressed’ by Martin Odegaard on Bayern Munich trial
Speaking to the Athletic, former Bayern technical director Michael Reschke revealed that Martin Odegaard once caught the eye of Guardiola whilst on trial with the German giants as a teenager.
The Norwegian star famously toured around Europe training with every big club out there before opting to sign for Real Madrid, with Odegaard eventually finding his way to Arsenal where the midfielder is now one of the best in the world.
Reschke said when asked about how Odegaard did during his trial with Bayern under Guardiola: “At 16, he trained with Pep, who was totally impressed after the first training.
“I came into the dressing room and Pep was talking about how intelligent he was and how he would improve — he was the type of player he loved. He was completely convinced. We were both pretty sure we wanted to sign him, but he had the decision between Real Madrid and Bayern.”
Arsenal will feel lucky Guardiola passed on future captain
Odegaard’s road to the top is one that should be used as a source of inspiration, with the playmaker struggling to make it at the biggest club in football before taking his own path via Arsenal to stardom.
Yet things would have been different had Bayern won the race for Odegaard, where the midfielder’s development might have arguably hit all the right notes under Guardiola and in the German football system.
Indeed, Arsenal will thank their lucky stars that Odegaard took the road he did, with the Norweigian now one of the best in the world and a player that is on course to become a legend in north London.
