Martin Odegaard says missing out on the title last season still hurts, and that he and the rest of the squad are determined to use that pain as a motivating factor for the new campaign.
The Gunners led the way for a long time, before running out of steam and being overtaken by 115 charges Man City. This time around, having added £200m worth of talent, the Arsenal captain wants to replicate the response of the previous season when we missed out on the Champions League.
“We have to use it,” Odegaard told The Athletic. “The end of the season was tough for us and very painful after leading for so long. That is always going to hurt but we have to use it in a good way to come back stronger and be even more motivated and even hungrier.
“That’s what we did last year after we missed the Champions League the year before. We came back stronger and that’s what we’re going to try to do.
“What we have to do is learn from last year, to use the disappointment, the anger and all the bad feelings. We have to use them in a good way. We had a good season and took some massive steps.
“It still hurts and it’s still painful for us.”
The skipper also touched on increased expectations after spending more in the transfer market, on top of the progress that was visible to everyone last season.
“Now with the new signings and what we did last year I think the expectations are gonna go up. That’s part of the game and we have to deal with it.
“All we can do is focus on our jobs and continue to work hard every day and that’s what we’re going to do.
“We all enjoy that extra pressure. Hopefully we can just keep on doing well.”
Keep the fire burning. And let this feeling infect everyone in the team. The homework is done very early this season and let’s hope everything will flow.
O Captain my Captain
We have to win the Premier League this season: anything less will be failure.
You don’t spend more than £200 million to go from second to second.
I suspect other teams will spend around that figure and Manchester City don’t really need to.
Plus, if we sell Balogun, Tierney and Partey we will recoup +£100m and that’s without the Xhaka sale.
I’m guessing our actual net spend will be more like £130m.
For perspective, Chelsea spent a not £500million+ to finish 12th. And City spent £100 a year on average over a decade to get where they are now.
It’s all relative from person to person I guess. Personally I want another competitive season and another champions league spot. Every season is always different from the other. Take liverpool for example. On the eve of last season some might have considered them favourites or thereabouts but on par with city considering they had pushed city to the final minute of the final game in the season past. We aren’t even that close to city and liverpool might even be stronger than us last season’s blip aside. All in all to each his own. If you get stressed about not… Read more »
So well said. Just happy that the club is now wanting to and able to be competitive. For those that have been sticked around long enough, so am guessing that they only wish is to see the club has the fire and drive to be excellent. Winning trophies are of course important but not the most important. Playing in styles and buying / selling / developing players good, that should make fans happy! I pledged my loyalty to Arsenal because of Arsene. In his early days, the smooth operations of the team transfer biz and style of play…. Seeing that… Read more »
“It’s all relative from person to person I guess” is absolutely true. I sit somewhere between you and Fatgooner- I think it will be deemed a bit of a failure if we don’t win something, but what that trophy is I couldn’t say. 2nd in the league, quarter finals of UCL, and a decent FA Cup run is the bare minimum for me. Not to say I’d be calling for Arteta’s head if we didn’t do so, but I’d be a tad disappointed. I actually kinda fancy us in the Champions League- something I’ve never said before. Feels as though… Read more »
Typical loser mentality. First is first and second is nowhere is far as I’m concerned.
We are good enough to win the title and we should have done so last season. And the addition of Rice and Timber makes us an even better team now.
If we don’t win the league this season then it’s yet another failure as far as I’m concerned.
Unless we stop accepting mediocrity and demand excellence we’ll win nothing.
Good point! It’s all of the fan’s acceptance of mediocrity that cost us the title…
We all want to win, but for some there is space between perfection and failure.
I am in favour of demanding excellence and of not accepting mediocrity. Unfortunately, so are Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, and Erik Ten Haag.
Klopp and Ten Haag don’t have the players that we do.
And if we didn’t belly-flop over the last quarter of last season then Guardiola would have been an irrelevance.
I agree mate, the “In Arteta we trust” bots have downvoted your post it seems.
How did Arsenal manage to get this guy for 35million bucks???
I dunno, but I can’t wait for Arda Guler to come to us after sitting on the bench for a few seasons 🙂
I’m surprised we didn’t go all in for him. I don’t know if we did or if his heart was set on Madrid, but he would have been a fantastic talent to have now.
It’s typical Arsenal, take a player that has stagnated elsewhere and bring them in and let them live up to their potential. Odegaard was warming the bench at Real Madrid before they loaned him to us and only worth the 35 million they got from us.
To quote Wenger: We don’t buy superstars, we make them.
To be fair to Madrid, they had one of the best midfield players of the last 25 years playing in Odegaard’s position. It wasn’t as if they were starting Harry Winks instead of him.
May as well throw in this season’s pain too by wearing the new away kit.
Just wish we avoid injuries in this new campaign and we stay fit.
Even Declan Rice is frustrated he didn’t sign for the defending champions as he had hoped. He is determined to wear the Champions’ medal around his neck come May ’24, I am told.