Before every game at Emirates Stadium, Martin Odegaard lifts the lid on the mood in the camp via his captain’s notes published in the matchday programme.
Ahead of today’s game against Sunderland, Martin reflects on reaching the Carabao Cup final, gives an update on his injury and takes stock of where we currently are as the season enters the business stage. Here is a snippet:
It was brilliant that the team got the job done on Tuesday, and we now have a cup final to look forward to.
We were really solid throughout the game, with good performances all round. Chelsea had the ball quite a lot, but watching from the sidelines, I didn’t feel they were much of a threat. We defended really well and didn’t let them create much throughout the game. It felt like it was really controlled from us, and just really good defensively from the whole team. Then of course we were able to get the goal in the end, which was a big moment for Kai and the whole team to be able to celebrate the win like that.
Now we can’t wait to play in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley. We’ve said for a long time that we want to win things and this is obviously the first chance to do that this season. It’s brilliant to be there, hopefully we can go there and lift the trophy.
I was obviously disappointed to miss the Chelsea game, but I felt something during the Leeds game after coming on, and Tuesday’s game came just a bit too soon for me. At Leeds, I was really determined to make an impact when I came on. Every player has got to do what they can when they come on to impact the match. I was pleased with my contribution to help the team get the win, and in the end it was a brilliant result. It was an important response from the whole team after the defeat before and a couple of draws in the league as well. It was a big win on the road, and Leeds is never an easy place to go to, everyone did really well.
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We showed what we do. We stick together, we keep going and we keep fighting. That’s what we’ve been saying the whole time, we just keep going. As I said after the Manchester United game, it’s never going to be easy in this league. Sometimes you will lose matches and then the most important thing is how you react to it. And we all did that brilliantly.
Our focus is always on the next game, especially when we have so many matches coming up, but also sometimes you need to have some perspective on where we are, and what we have been doing lately. I heard it’s only the second time in our history we have ever won five away games in a single month, it’s important to remember the perspective. It’s a very intense time, and we always want more and we always want better, and whenever you don’t win a game, then it’s easy to be caught up in the frustration.
But sometimes you’ve got to look at the bigger picture and see where we are and acknowledge that. We’re in a great position in all the competitions and in the league as well. So let’s remind ourselves of that, and then keep pushing, keep enjoying everything every day and that’s what we’re doing.
It’s back to the Premier League today, and we welcome Sunderland here. They have had an excellent season, they are really competitive and can make it difficult for anyone. We’ve experienced that already away from home earlier this season, and this is another big test that we need to be ready for. We have to keep our level high against them, be ready for the challenge and keep our momentum going from the last few results.
Read the rest of Martin’s notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying the Arsenal v Sunderland programme either around the stadium or online.
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