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Tag: Martin Odegaard

  • UCL: Arsenal bank on returnee Odegaard for  Bayern showdown

    UCL: Arsenal bank on returnee Odegaard for  Bayern showdown

    Mikel Arteta said Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is in contention to return from injury for  today’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

    Odegaard has been out of action since October with a knee injury, but he is back in training ahead of Bayern’s visit to the Emirates Stadium.

    The Norway midfielder’s presence in the starting line-up would be a significant boost for Arsenal as they look to make it five successive wins in the Champions League this season.

     “He was very close for the previous game so we are hopeful that tomorrow he can be in the squad,” Arteta told reporters.

    Arsenal and Bayern began this week as the top two in the Champions League table, with the Gunners hoping to step up their bid to reach the last 16 by defeating the German champions.

    Arteta’s side head into the eagerly-anticipated match basking in Sunday’s 4-1 demolition of their north London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League.

    Read Also: UEFA Champions League: Ajax remain pointless as Benfica claim first win

     “We have to make sure that we carry that energy tomorrow again to the stadium, to each individual and play with the same dominance, aggression, and efficiency against a top side,” Arteta said. “This is the kind of game in the competition that we want to face and we’ve been very consistent.”

    Chasing a first English title since 2004, Arsenal are six points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who host the leaders on Sunday.

    But before that summit meeting, Arteta knows Bayern pose a major threat to his team’s 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

     “Tomorrow is a great test for us to see where we are,” he said. “Every opponent brings different challenges. Obviously they are in a great moment.

     “The level of consistency they show in results, performances, in every metric that they have is very, very impressive. We know that. But as well it’s a massive opportunity for us to show what we are capable of.”

    Arsenal are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season, but full-back Jurrien Timber is well aware they face a huge task in stopping Bayern striker Harry Kane.

    The England captain has scored 15 goals in 21 appearances against the Gunners, including one for Bayern at the Emirates in the first leg of their quarter-final in 2024.

    Timber is relishing the challenge of shackling Kane on the former Tottenham star’s return to north London.

     “I think he’s an amazing striker. Everyone knows that,” the Dutchman said.

     “He has so many qualities. He’s been doing it for such a long time already and now at Bayern Munich, he’s one of the best players in the world.

     “So it’s going to be a nice challenge for us as a team, and as defenders, to stop him tomorrow.”

    UCL: TODAY’S MATCHES

    Copenhagen vs. Kairat

    Pafos vs. Monaco

    Arsenal vs.  Bayern

    Atletico vs. Inter Milan

    Frankfurt vs. Atalanta

    Liverpool vs. PSV

    Olympiakos vs. Real Madrid

    PSG vs. Tottenham

    Sporting CP vs. Club Brugge

  • Odegaard still weeks away from return, says Arteta

    Odegaard still weeks away from return, says Arteta

    Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard remains weeks away from returning to action after his ankle injury and several other players will also miss  today’s League Cup clash at home to Bolton Wanderers, manager Mikel Arteta said.

    Odegaard was injured playing for Norway in the international break and Arteta does not expect him to return until October.

    “I think it will be a matter of weeks, but how long exactly I cannot tell,” the Spaniard told reporters.

    “We might get a surprise but I think it’s unlikely he’ll be back before the international break.”

    The next international window runs from Oct. 7-16 with Arsenal hosting Leicester City and Southampton in the Premier League either side of welcoming Paris St Germain in the Champions League before then.

    Arsenal are quickly back in action in their League Cup third-round tie with Bolton after Sunday’s gripping 2-2 draw at Manchester City in which they hung on with 10 men for the entire second half but conceded a last-gasp equaliser.

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    Several Arsenal players required treatment on the pitch in the second half with some accusing them of delaying tactics.

    “I always prefer the facts to words than supposing things,” Arteta said. “Let’s see who is available tomorrow and then we can talk about dark arts. Unfortunately, there will be a few players not available. Tomorrow you will find out.”

    The visit of third-tier Bolton will be an opportunity for some of Arsenal’s fringe players to get some playing time with new signing Raheem Sterling likely to start.

    “He had a few minutes already. He played in a few games and Wednesday he has another opportunity,” Arteta said of the former Manchester City winger who joined from Chelsea last month.

    “He is hungry to have more minutes and to impact the team in the way he can.”

  • Martin Odegaard: I lead by example

    Martin Odegaard: I lead by example

    One of the major roles of any captain is to help bring a team together. Whether leading by example on the pitch, representing your teammates in meetings, or by being the voice of the club through media work, the privilege of leadership brings plenty of responsibilities.

    For Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard however, it’s a part of the job that comes naturally. Used to being the focal point of his team from a very young age, he relishes the role of leader whenever he steps onto the pitch. Away from matchday too, captaining a football club is increasingly a 24/7 position, encompassing various different roles.

    But although Martin started his first-team career as a 15-year-old, and was marked out as a rising star even before he joined Stromsgodset at the age of 10, he didn’t have any experience of captaincy at that young age.

    “The first team I ever played for was my local side, Drammen Strong,” Martin explains. “I was one of the talented ones I would say, but there were a few of us. In fact, me and one other guy stood out, my best mate actually.

    He played until the under-19s age group, at the same club as me where I turned professional, Stromsgodset, but then he stopped after that. He carried on playing, but only for fun, not as a professional, but he was a good player when we were young. We are still in touch now, he’s my best mate so I speak to him all the time.”

    But despite attracting national headlines at Drammen Strong, while still just six or seven, and clearly a major player at the club, he was never handed the armband.

    “No, I was never captain at that first club,” he reveals. “It’s a funny story really because my dad was the coach, and he would always change the captain so that everybody had a turn and got to experience it. But he would never pick me for it!

    “It was because I was his son that he didn’t choose me. So every other player did it, and not me. To be honest I didn’t mind, I didn’t especially want to be captain, it wasn’t really important to me. But now I think it’s funny that he always changed captain, but it was never me!”

    Martin said he also learned about working with others as part of a team when he played bandy as a youngster. Essentially an 11-a-side version of ice hockey but with a ball instead of a puck, bandy was a popular sport where he grew up in Norway, but he admits it was a short-term fascination. Football was always his number one priority and he devoted all his time to it.

    It soon paid off. Martin went from Drammen Strong to Stromsgodset to – at the age of 16 – Real Madrid. Loan spells at Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands and Real Sociedad in Spain followed, before he joined us, initially on loan, in January 2021.

    Read Also: Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard: We have to keep fighting till the end

    He was made club captain at the start of last season, but that wasn’t the first time he had led a team. He has been skipper of the Norway national team since March 2021, so it was not completely new to him at Arsenal, and anyway, he says his good relationship with the rest of the squad made the initial months easier.

    “I would say I’m quite close to most of the players,” he says. “Maybe Mo Elneny I would say is one of my closer friends in the team, but it’s hard to say just one, because it’s a really good group here now. I connect well with all of them basically, there is a good atmosphere in the dressing room with all the players and the staff too.

    “We have quite a lot of gatherings, team barbecues and things like that, and people bring their kids, their wives so we all know each others’ families as well, I think that’s really important to build a team. There’s a great spirit within the whole club.

    “For example, Bukayo lives quite near to me so we will get together to watch football or things like that, we are friends off the pitch as well.”

    Creating strong unity and team spirit has been a key part of Mikel Arteta’s ethos ever since taking over as manager nearly four years ago, and Martin agrees that it’s part of his job as captain to help with that.

    Bringing together a dressing room with multiple ages, backgrounds and languages demands a special skill, but is essential, according to Odegaard.

    “I definitely think it’s important to have that diversity in a team,” he states. “It’s good to connect people from different areas, learn from each other and get a variety of views. We are a young team here, with lots of players of a similar age, but we’ve got some experienced players too and that’s really important for them to pass on their knowledge of situations and have different reference points.

    So what elements does Martin believe are the most important in creating a successful team environment, and what qualities does he as captain look to instil?

    “For sure you have to fight for each other,” he says. “For me that’s the most important ingredient. You have to work for yourself but also work for your teammates. You have to stay together every single day.”