Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has made a promise to supporters that the Gunners will use the frustrating end to the Premier League title race as motivation for next season. For 240 days, Arsenal sat top of the Premier League table but two wins from their last eight games allowed Manchester City to move to the summit and scoop their third consecutive title after the Gunners' defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Despite being guaranteed to finish in second, there are still numerous positives for Arsenal with the obvious one being their return to the Champions League. When asked about how he would describe Arsenal's season in one word, Arteta's response spoke volumes about what has been built at Emirates Stadium and what will likely be taken into the next few years.
"Probably, connection," he said. "That’s how I would do it. I think the team has connected, I think the club has connected, I think the departments at the club have connected, I think the crowd has connected with the team, with the club, with the ownership, with the rest of the world.
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"I think we have connected with our DNA, who we are, with our values and our way of doing things. We have to keep doing that." One of the key performers for the Gunners this season has been Odegaard with his value both on and off the pitch very clear.
The 2022/23 campaign was his first as club captain and his message to supporters bodes well for the future, despite the disappointment of the last few weeks. As quoted by Arsenal's official website, he said: "We’re not at all happy with the end of the season. When the disappointment goes away, and with a bit of time, I guess we will look back at this season and be proud, but right now it’s pain and frustration.
"With the position we’ve been in all season, we’re not happy with second place. Even though it’s a good achievement and probably everyone would have taken it before the season, we wanted to win it when we got into that position. It’s a good sign that we are disappointed, and I think we should be. But also we have done some great things this season and taken some big steps in the right direction.
"Last season we had a difficult end when we dropped out of the Champions League. But we used that anger and came back stronger this year, and we need to do the same thing again. We could have won the league, so let’s use this disappointment in a good way, learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen the same next season."
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