Martin Ødegaard says that Arsenal’s near misses in the Premier League over the past three seasons are on the players’ minds – but only in a way to motivate them to go all the way this time.
The captain sought to push a line that Mikel Arteta has also mentioned – the need to stay in the moment and blot out the external noise – as he reflected on Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United. However, the Norwegian midfielder did admit that his club’s run of three successive runners-up finishes was a part of the picture.
“Obviously it is a factor,” Ødegaard said. “But it can be a good factor as well. It gives you more fuel and more hunger and determination to get it done. I think we have experienced in all those seasons that it is a long run and a lot of things happen. Be together now. Look for the next game and bounce back.”
Arsenal are back in action in the Champions League on Wednesday night when they play Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan at the Emirates Stadium, looking to make it a perfect eight wins out of eight in the league phase of the competition. They have guaranteed their progress into the last 16.
It is Saturday’s trip to Leeds in the league that is on the minds of the Arsenal fanbase after the United defeat meant their team had taken two points from three matches. Arsenal’s lead at the top over Manchester City and Aston Villa is down to four points and it has been easy to feel the anxiety, certainly among the supporters in the ground on Sunday.
“I didn’t feel that, to be honest,” Ødegaard said. “I was so focused on the game. The important thing is to stay in the moment. We can’t listen too much to the expectations and everything around it. We weren’t good enough [against United] and we have to learn from that.”
It was Arsenal’s first home defeat and their third in total; all of them have been in the league. It was also the first time they had conceded three goals since the 4-3 win at Luton in December 2023. The worry was how they lost their way after going 1-0 up in the 29th minute. Too many players were below their best.
“It was a frustrating one,” Ødegaard said. “We opened the game pretty well, scored a goal and had some other good moments in and around the box. There were a few moments where we let them run too easily and probably play on their strengths too much. We know they are good on the counter and we let them do that a bit too easily at times.
“In the second half, the momentum changed a little bit. They won a lot of the duels, a lot of the 50-50 balls and managed to create the momentum from there. That is definitely something we can improve.”
