The glamorous side of captaining a title-contending Premier League side is easy to imagine.
The euphoria, noise and passion of playing in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans is a far cry from the usual work environment that most of us are used to.
But away from the pitch, life for the likes of Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard may be somewhat more mundane - but that’s not an issue for the Norwegian himself.
Odegaard on his post-match routine
Speaking to FourFourTwo a day after Arsenal’s key 3-2 win at Bournemouth in early January, Odegaard offers up some insight into what happens after the players leave the pitch victorious.
“The next day is just about recovery,” the 27-year-old says. “Getting the body, getting the mind right. When we play evening games, it’s not so easy to sleep afterwards.
“Every footballer will know what I mean. That surge of adrenaline from performing, the nerves, living the game. Then you come home and suddenly you’re expected to go back to zero, to relax. Easier said than done.”
With Arsenal suffering so few defeats during the first half of this season, there have been more opportunities than ever to switch off after matches. “Sometimes there are things in the match that annoyed you,” he admits.
“Things you could have done better, even good things that you want to look at again. So sometimes I do that. But most of the time I come home and don’t think too much about the game. I leave it for the next day and switch off. I can do that.”
Odegaard was handed the captain’s armband by Mikel Arteta ahead of the 2022/23 season, but that does not mean he has the power to bargain for a morning off after the most punishing night matches. The reality is less flexible by necessity.
“Sometimes we do that, sometimes we have the day off after a game,” he says. “But when you’re playing every three days, there’s not a lot of time. We need to come into the training ground, recover properly and analyse what’s happened, look at clips.”
Recovery isn’t an optional extra, but part of the work itself.
“The main thing is the body,” Odegaard adds. “When you come in, everything is there for you – the physios, the treatment, the recovery work. I think it’s a good thing to be in the next day, to make sure your body is feeling right again.”
It helps when that return comes on the back of a victory. “It’s a really nice feeling to come in after a win and do recovery with everyone at the training ground,” the midfielder adds. “We’re together, like a family. We spend a lot of time together. Everyone gets along.”
