Martin Odegaard has promised he and his Arsenal teammates will return ‘even more motivated and hungrier’ to win silverware after their near miss in the Premier League title race last season.
The Gunners pushed Manchester City into the final day of the 2023–24 season, finishing the season with the most wins in the Premier League era, a points tally bettered only by the 2003–04 Invincibles and their most goals scored in a league season for 71 years. Although that was a significant improvement compared to last year, the end result was the same: Pep Guardiola’s team has been crowned champions of England and Arsenal since the summer of 2020 without major success.
However, Mikel Arteta and his side were not ones to wallow even after the final whistle. Last week, CBS Sports revealed that a group of first-team players had flown to Marbella for a pre-season camp, one that Odegaard has joined as the Gunners attempt to hit the ground running in 2024-25. The club captain cited Arsenal’s slow start out of the gate as one of the factors that led to City scoring them at the post. This season he is determined to go one step further.
“Last season was good, but not good enough to win,” Odegaard told Morning Footy on CBS Sports Golazo Network. “We’re going to come back even more motivated and hungrier and push each other even harder to win. I think it’s going to be a big season.”
Odegaard added that his sense of belief and desire to improve was shared by the entire club. He said: “That’s one of our biggest strengths in the team, we’re so connected and together. As a club, we do everything we do together. We are working in the same direction with the supporters.
“That’s the most important thing for us, doing a lot of the same things. Obviously we want to improve to make sure we win some titles too, but we’ve had a great season and made some history. Small margins, small details, that can be done we do.” better and push each other to win some trophies too.”
The young Arsenal team is gaining experience
Arsenal’s return to contention is all the more impressive considering the youth of Arteta’s side. With an average starting age of 25 years and 158 days, they were the third-youngest team in the Premier League last season, led by a player who doesn’t turn 26 until December. Despite their young age, the core is long established (and not expected to change radically this summer), with nine players at the club already having more than 100 first-team appearances to their name. Despite his fitness, Bukayo Saka is likely to make his 250th appearance for the club this season. Should Arsenal go deep in Europe and the domestic cups, Odegaard will get close or even 200.
“It’s a good group,” said Odegaard, “a lot of young players are growing together as a team and group. However, we are also experienced players, experience is not just about age, it’s about what you’ve been through and what you’ve been through.” If you look at our team, there are a lot of players who have been through a lot at a young age.
“We all want the same thing: to become even better and win trophies together. We push everyone hard and it is a pleasure to be part of that.”
Odegaard is a natural leader of this young but experienced team. The Norway international was heralded as the next big thing when, as a 16-year-old, he was courted by a string of Europe’s biggest clubs. He suffered setbacks at Real Madrid before eventually joining Arsenal in 2021, initially on loan. has established himself as one of the Premier League’s outstanding talents and as one of the most important figures in London’s Colney dressing room.
The 25-year-old may not have the reputation for thunderous tackles and drives like Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira, but his exemplary behavior has earned him much admiration within the club and among supporters. However, it does mean that someone else has to take responsibility for the peace and quiet hairdryer treatment.
“Mikel, he can do that every now and then. I may not be the one who yells the most and all that stuff, but I think it’s important to tell people when it’s not good enough and to tell them when it’s right Because the most important thing for me is to do what is good for the team and help the players around me get the best out of everyone. There are many ways to do that, I just try to do it my way. “
Arsenal’s preparations for the 2024-2025 season may be underway in Marbella at the moment, but they will continue in July when they travel to the United States. On July 24 and 27 they will face Bournemouth and Manchester United in Los Angeles, three days later they will face Liverpool in Philadelphia.
“We are very excited,” Odegaard said. “It’s always great to travel there and see all the supporters and feel that [support] from different parts of the world. It’s always a bit surprising when you travel so far and see the outpouring of support we have.”