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Manchester United failed to sign now-Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard twice in the past, as reported by The Daily Star.
The Red Devils will travel to north London on Sunday to take on the league leaders in what could be a huge clash that could decide the fate of the Premier League title race.
Martin Odegaard, who has been the architect behind Arsenal's phenomenal season so far, could have been gracing the Manchester United shirt had things gone differently.
As per The Daily Star, the Red Devils made two attempts to sign the Norway international in the past.
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They have admired the flamboyant playmaker since he was just 14 years of age and invited him to spend some time at the club's Carrington training ground back in 2013.
At that time, David Moyes took over at Old Trafford from Sir Alex Ferguson and decided to wait 12 months to see how Odegaard developed.
It proved to be a costly mistake by Manchester United as the Norwegian prodigy saw his stock rise significantly over the span of a year.
He became the youngest player to make his senior international debut with Norway and found himself the target of some of the biggest clubs on the planet.
The attacking midfielder attracted interest from almost every top club in Europe by then including the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich among others.
Manchester United felt no need to offer the wunderkind a trial and sent manager Louis van Gaal to Norway to talk to him face-to-face.
However, the Dutchman decided against a move as the player made it clear that he wanted to train with his first team from day one.
He eventually joined Real Madrid in 2015 but could never quite make it at the Santiago Bernabeu despite showcasing his talent on loan at different clubs.
Odegaard has played a decisive role for Arsenal this season and has led the team by example.
The Norwegian skipper has scored eight goals and laid out five assists in 17 league games this campaign for the league leaders.
Manchester United keeper David de Gea says Arsenal have an unfair advantage ahead of Manchester United showdown
Ahead of the Arsenal vs Manchester United clash this weekend, David de Gea has highlighted the unfair advantage the Gunners have over his side.
Red Devils United midfielder Casemiro picked up his fifth yellow card in the league this season in the Red Devils' 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
The Brazil international is out of contention against Arsenal on Sunday and De Gea has branded this as an unfair advantage to Arsenal.
"One of our best players cannot play one of the best teams. I don’t understand why we had to play today and they didn’t, that could make the difference on Sunday. He is a big loss for us."
