As clubs’ preparations for the 2024/25 season begin, Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has given an insight into how the end of the 2023/24 season made him and his teammates feel.
The North London giants were very close to winning their first Premier League title since 2004 but were usurped by Manchester City who claimed their fourth league title in a row.
The unprecedented feat by the Cityzens meant that Arsenal lost out on a second-straight Premier League title. The Gunners spent most of the 2022/23 season holding on to the top spot only for a poor run of games to cost them the title. The same inconsistencies reared their ugly heads in the 2023/24 season, only that this time, Arsenal did not spend too much time at the top.
They have been mocked, berated, praised and criticised by the footballing community for losing out twice in a row on a trophy that many believe they should have won.
Ødegaard spoke about the disappointment that came with these losses but also stated that the growth of his team is something that makes him and their fans proud. The Norwegian, whose national team is unfortunately not participating in the ongoing UEFA European Championships, also believes that they will be rewarded with a trophy in the near future.
“We made history as we’ve talked about before and we have to be proud of those things,” Ødegaard told the media. “It wasn’t enough to win it and that’s what we wanted to do. We all felt a bit 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 and again it is small margins. We didn’t have the consistency to win it.”
“We have to earn it. We know we can improve, we know we are going to get better. That’s what we are working for now. It is just small margins, small details in the game and how to deal with a long season. So close, but we are going to come back even stronger I’m sure.”
“I think it is easy to find the motivation because we all want to win, we all want the same thing and we are all pushing each other so hard every day – staff, players, supporters, everyone is pushing in the same direction.”
“I think it is just about doing those small things every day to become a little bit better and in the end I’m sure it is going to be rewarded with a trophy.”
