Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has spoken to The Athletic about the team’s Premier League ambitions and their shortcomings from the previous season. The midfielder claimed that the team lacked the consistency needed to win the title.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City narrowly beat the Gunners to the trophy last season, but it was a closely contested battle between Guardiola and his former disciple, Mikel Arteta. Arsenal won 16 of their last 18 games, finishing just two points behind City.
“It was a good season,” the Norway international said. “We made history and we have to be proud. We all felt disappointed with being so close, but in football, it is small margins.
“It is easy to look at one game, but you have to look at the whole season. We didn’t have the consistency to win it. We have to earn it. We know we can improve. That’s what we are working for.
“It is just small details and how to deal with a long season. We were so close, but we are going to come back even stronger.”
Arsenal’s form and their mental growth in the second half of the season gives Odegaard plenty of optimism ahead of next season, where they will again rival City for the Premier League title.
“We had the big dream,” the 25-year-old said. “We had it on the last day, and I really had the feeling something special would happen. After the game, it was just disappointment when you are so close, and you can see it there, the trophy was there. But it is important to think about all the good things.
“You learn something every day, especially when you are so close. You can feel it, taste it, and you have it there on the last day. It gives us all the motivation we need to come back even stronger this year and to win it — that’s the big goal. If you compare last season to the season before, we looked a lot stronger, especially towards the end of the season. We looked more mature, more confident.”
Arsenal will be a stronger side on paper compared to last season, with defender Riccardo Calafiori and a striker likely to join their ranks soon. The Gunners will be aiming to lift their first league title in over twenty years.
