Martin Odegaard has sent Arsenal's rivals a stern warning as Premier League clubs count down the days until the start of a new campaign. The 23-year-old, who often captained Mikel Arteta's side towards the end of last season, steered the Gunners towards Champions League qualification.
However, unfortunately for Arsenal, north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur swooped in and snatched fourth place from under their noses. And, with the new season set to commence in the comings weeks, Odegaard is insistent on avenging his club's misfortunes.
The Norway international pinned Arsenal's failure to secure top-flight European football on the squad's mentality. Odegaard then revelled in Edu's five new signings, claiming that they will take the Gunners to the next level on and off the pitch.
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Speaking to football.london, Odegaard said: "I don’t think we lacked something really, but I think it’s always an area to improve - the mentality of the team — and I think all the players coming in have brought something good. Just the energy, the personality. They bring good vibes, you know? They push the team. On and off the pitch they’re good people, and I think that’s important for the team."
Odegaard continued by speaking of Arsenal's top-four prospects and insisted that his side can not let the opportunity of Champions League qualification slip again. The Norwegian said: "To be honest I don’t like to speak about other teams, I think we need to focus on ourselves.
"The main thing for us is to improve from last season. I think we were all really disappointed at the end of the season, missing the top four. We had it in our hands, so it was really disappointing in the end. I think you will see a hungry Arsenal team coming back now after the end of the season."
Every leading top-flight side needs a leader and a figurehead who is an embodiment of their boss' philosophy, ambitions and mentality. And, Odegaard has reassured Arteta that he can fulfil this role.
He outlined his joy in holding great responsibility when wearing the armband having done so to great extent on the international stage. Odegaard said: "I always enjoy responsibility. I’m captain for my country and it’s a nice experience, so I enjoy that. I don’t know anything about the situation here, I think that question is for Mikel and the club, but if he asked me of course I would be happy to do it."
Then, when asked whether he defy the notorious 'captain curse' at the Emirates Stadium, Odegaard said: "It’s not something I think about. I think about the future, and to make that as good as possible, so we’ll see what happens."
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